Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera is a section of subgenus Hymenanthes in the genus Rhododendron. It comprises 15-16 species of deciduous shrubs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
It includes two subsections:
See also: North American azaleas.
| Image | Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Rhododendron alabamense (Alabama azalea) | United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee) | |
| Rhododendron arborescens | United States (West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.) | |
| Rhododendron atlanticum | United States (New Jersey south to Georgia.) | |
| Rhododendron austrinum | United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi) | |
| Rhododendron calendulaceum | United States (southern Pennsylvania and Ohio to northern Georgia.) | |
| Rhododendron canescens | United States(Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia) | |
| Rhododendron colemanii | United States(Alabama and western Georgia) | |
| Rhododendron cumberlandense | United States (Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.) | |
| Rhododendron eastmanii | United States (South Carolina) | |
| Rhododendron flammeum | United States(Georgia and South Carolina) | |
| Rhododendron luteum (yellow azalea, honeysuckle azalea) | southern Russia; and in Asia | |
| Rhododendron occidentale | United States(Oregon, California) | |
| Rhododendron periclymenoides (pink azalea, pinxterbloom azalea, pinxter flower) | United States(southern New York south to Georgia) | |
| Rhododendron prinophyllum (rose azalea, roseshell azalea) | Eastern United States | |
| Rhododendron prunifolium | United States(Georgia, Alabama) | |
| Rhododendron viscosum (Swamp azalea) | Eastern United States | |
| Image | Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| Rhododendron molle | S. China | |
| Rhododendron japonicum[1] | Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, N. Kyushu). | |
The section is closely related to sect. Rhodora, differing from it in the flower corolla having five fully developed lobes, whereas sect. Rhodora has the upper three lobes joined into a single three-lipped lobe.
Most (but not all) of the cultivated azaleas belong to species in this section, and hybrids derived from them.