First, an introduction:
Isn't this beautiful? Even with my finicky camera it looks great. You should see some of Daniel's shots. He's a terrific photographer and his photos are even more gorgeous. Actually, I am not entirely sure why he wants a painting when he's got such lovely photos. But a painting can reveal more of the soul of the thing, can't it? And he has a sentimental fondness for flame azaleas, going back to his childhood home in South Carolina where his dad cultivated them. So the challenge is set!
The flame azalea, also known as Rhododendron calendulaceum, is one of only15 native species which grow in the Eastern U.S. (By comparison, plant enthusiasts have selectively bred azaleas for hundreds of years, yielding more than 10,000 hybrids!) It is one of the most spectacular native shrubs of the Appalachian Mountains and can be found from southern New York and Ohio south through the Appalachan Mountains to northern Georgia. It has a wide range of color from clear yellow to oranges to brilliant red. My shrubs are mostly yellow-orange to solid orange. R. calendulaceum was first collected in 1795 from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina by Andre Michaux, the French botanist and explorer, but it has been around much longer. This native species has been growing relatively undisturbed in the Appalachians for millions of years!
As for the plant's habit, this is what I've learned: Like all native azaleas, it is a well-branched deciduous shrub. This means it drops its leaves in the winter. It is upright with spreading branches, about 5 to 10 feet high. (My shrubs, which get absolutely no attention from me, are going on 50 years old and are about 6 - 8 feet tall.) It is a naturally occuring tetraploid, having twice the number of chromasomes in comparision to other native species. Because of this fact, it does not hybridize easily with most of the other natives.
The terminal inflorescense (the bunch of blossoms at the end of the stem) can contain 5 - 8 flowers, with the individual corolla (one blossom) varying from 2.5 - 4 cm. long to 3 - 5 cm. accross. The corolla is openly funnel shaped, and the tube is the same length as the width of the petals, or slightly shorter. The flowers have a prominant blotch (this is a horticultural term meaning a darker blotch of color at the center of the bloom) but are not fragrant. The undersides of the leaves are pubescent (fuzzy), but not waxy white. The flowers open along with the leaves, or shortly thereafter.
I could go on to describe more excruciating details about the morphology of this plant, but I will spare you. It is stuff I need to know as I set out to draw it, but it really is pretty dry stuff! Let's just agree that it is a wonderful subject to paint and worthy of its distinction in 2000 as Virginia's "Wildflower of the Year". Onward!
(p.s. for your amusement, I have also posted some more musings "around the house" and "on other stuff". Check out the links to the right.)
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