Australian Native Plants

  Rhododendron lochiae (Australian Rhododendron)


Rhododendron lochiae photo
Labelled as Rhododendron lochiae x lochiae, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne

Photograph by Melburnian. Some rights reserved.    (view image details)




PLANT FACTS

distribution map showing range of Rhododendron lochiae in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Australian Rhododendron

Other Names
Native Rhododendron

Description
Australian Rhododendron is small shrub growing to one metre tall. The glossy leaves are elliptical and grow up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide, and are thick and stiff. It has very attractive clusters of reddish pink bell-shaped flowers that grow to 5 cm long. The fruit is a capsule up to 4 cm long. this plant is a very ornamental species and is grown in cultivation. Rhododendron lochiae is a "Vireya" Rhododendron (a tropical subgenus of Rhododendron native to south east Asia and Australia).

Habitat
tropical mountain top rainforests where it grows as an epiphyte in rainforest trees, or grows on rocks or boulders as a lithophyte.

Distribution
Rhododendron lochiae is found in north eastern Queensland

Growth Characteristics
Height: 1m
Spread: 1m

Classification
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Ericales
Family:Ericaceae
Genus:Rhododendron
Species:lochiae
Common Name:Australian Rhododendron