Rhododendron

The name Rhododendron is from the Greek rhodos "rose" or "red" and dendron, a tree. It was originally applied to the unrelated rose-flowered oleander, Nerium oleander

The first Rhododendron species was described by Charles l'Ecluse (later Latinized to Clusius), a 16th century Flemish botanist.

By the 17th century, the Japanese were crossing Rhododendron indicum and Rhododendron tamurae and creating hybrids. The first amateur collector in China was James Cunningham, who was employed by the East India Company and was assigned to China as a surgeon. He sent home over 600 dried specimen before embarking on a voyage to return home, where he died en route.

In the early 18th century, several American species were discovered by Bartram and others, and introduced to England. Today there are more than 1,000 known species and more than 20,000 registered cultivars of Rhododendrons (including Azaleas, which are included in the same genus.)