pontic rhododendron

Name: Pontic Rhododendron

RHODODENDRON PONTIAN

 

Evergreen shrub or tree up to 1-5 m tall. The leaves are alternate, short-petiolate, 10-20 cm long and 4-5 cm wide (in the middle part), oblong-elliptical, pointed, narrowed towards the base, dense, leathery, smooth, darker green above. The flowers are large, 4-5-6 cm in diameter, with longish pedicels, collected in umbellate inflorescences at the tops of young branches. Calyx cleavage, small, with 5 identical triangular teeth at the ends of the sepals, corolla five-lobed, campanulate-funnel-shaped, slightly irregular, almost half fused, violet-pink or pale pink, stamens 10; anthers at the top open with two holes from which pollen spills out; pistil of 5 carpels with an upper five-celled ovary and many ovules in each nest. The fruit is a dry, five-folded, cylindrical capsule, 1.5 to 2.3 cm long. Seeds are small, numerous, brown, oblong. Blooms from late April to early June.

Leaves, twigs and flowers are used for medicinal purposes.

The plant is still little studied; it is supposed to contain, like lingonberries and bearberries, to which the rhododendron family belongs, arbutin and ericalin, and the flowers contain andrometaxin.

Application

See golden rhododendron.

We add that in Siberia folk medicine uses rhododendron as a narcotic and diuretic, also for the local treatment of rheumatism in doses of 0.2-0.3 g in the form of a powder from the leaves.

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