Rhododendron flower

[heleninwales]

Rhododendrons are unwelcome invaders in the forest, but the flowers are pretty.

21/52 for the group 2026 Weekly Alphabet Challenge

This week's theme was: U is for Umbels.

Re the theme, a rhododendron is not strictly speaking an umbelliferous plant, but actual umbellifers are just not flowering yet and I haven't seen any dried seed heads either. So I'm hoping that this is near enough. It does have a cluster of flowers growing from a single point.

Comments

[sartorias]

How lovely!

[heleninwales]

The flowers are pretty, but rhododendrons are a menace here. The climate and soil really suit them and they quickly cover the hills and valleys. The leaves are poisonous, though animals won't eat them while they're growing. Animals will eat dead leaves though, so when rhododendrons are cut down the branches have to be taken away. They smother all the native plants and basically cause a lot of problems.