The genus Azalea may be divided into three kinds, viz., _A. indica_ and its allied species; _A. pontica_ and its varieties and hybrids; and the American Azaleas. These divisions are easily distinguished by their flowers. Those of the Indian or Chinese Azaleas have all large showy flowers, on short downy footstalks, and they are produced in small clusters of only two or three flowers each, at the extremity of the shoots. The corollas are bell-shaped and deeply cut, nearly to the base, into broad spreading segments. The stamens are ten in number, shorter than the corolla, and of unequal length. The leaves are evergreen, and they are numerous, thickly set and downy. These Azaleas are all very handsome, but the white Indian Azalea (_A. indica alba_, or _A. ledifolia_) is particularly so, and very fragrant. The species belonging to this division are mostly natives of China, and require either a greenhouse or some slight protection during winter in England. The yellow Azalea (_A. pontica_ or _Rhododendron flavum_) differs from _A. indica_ in being quite hardy; in the flowers being produced in umbels of from eight to twelve, at the ends of the branches, before the leaves; and in the corollas being funnel-shaped instead of campanulate. The tube of the funnel is, however, shorter than the limb, the segments of which are broad and spreading, the upper three being larger and of a darker yellow than the two below. There are usually five stamens, projecting a little beyond the corolla, and curving upwards; the style also curves upwards, and it is crowned by the stigma, which forms a round green head. The calyx is very small, and both it and the corolla feel clammy to the touch. The flowers are fragrant. The leaves are deciduous, and they are ovate, slightly hairy, and terminate in a mucro or stiff point. There are many varieties of this species, and many hybrids between it and the American kinds, all of which are quite hardy in British gardens.