| |There is quite as marked
| | |variation in the size of
| | |the leaf, several species,
| | |of which R. Falconeri may
| | |be taken as a type, having
| | |large and handsome leaves,
| | |sometimes a foot high and 6
| | |inches wide, whilst the
| | |quaint little Japanese
| | |species R. serpyllifolium
| | |has tiny leaves not a third
| | |of an inch long and of
| | |corresponding width. The
| | |Rhododendron family may be
| | |divided into two great
| | |sections, deciduous and
| | |evergreen. The evergreen
| | |section consists of a large
| | |number of species, either
| | |quite hardy or tender, the
| | |tender ones being
| | |represented by such
| | |beautiful flowers as R.
| | |griffithianum, Edgeworthi,
| | |R. Dalhousiae, R. Nuttalli,
| | |the Malayan species, &c.
| | |With the exception of R.
| | |ponticum true species are
| | |seldom met with outdoors,
| | |except in gardens where
| | |collections are formed, or
| | |in the south-west
| | |countries. The scarcity of
| | |species is doubtless due to