{"id":2329,"date":"2022-02-08T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tourism.oregonstate.edu\/?p=2329"},"modified":"2021-08-30T10:10:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T17:10:38","slug":"magic-along-the-oregon-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/magic-along-the-oregon-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic Along the Oregon Coast – Rhododendron macrophyllum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A bit of magic happens along the Oregon Coast in April and May\u2014the wild rhododendrons begin to bloom! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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R. macrophyllum<\/em> comes in a variety of colors from red to white. Photo by R. Prchal used with permission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rhododendron macrophyllum<\/em> or more commonly the \u2018Western Rhododendron\u2019 produces a lovely five-lobed, bell-shaped bloom. Imagine 20 or more single pale pink to rosy-purple blooms clustered in trusses that cover a small tree or large shrub with large green leaves. Now imagine miles of blooms peeking out on each side of road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local display<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Blooms are visible along State Highway 101 typically during late April and early May. Some communities, such as Florence, Oregon, even host an annual festival (May 14-16, 2021) with parades, flower shows, and many family-friendly activities. Festivals and displays, such as these plant festivals, can be a fun and easy expeditions for garden buffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

R. macrophyllum<\/em>, discovered in 1792, thrives along the Pacific coastline from British Columbia, Canada through northern California. R. macrophyllum<\/em> was selected as Washington\u2019s State Flower in 1892 (see https:\/\/www.worldatlas.com\/articles\/what-is-the-state-flower-of-washington-washington-state-flower.html<\/a> ) and is currently being studied by the Rhododendron Species Foundation, in Federal Way, Washington, and local American Rhododendron Society Chapters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Habitat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

R. macrophyllum<\/em> thrives in disturbed habitats such as roadside embankments and recently deforested wildlands. They can also live in mountainous areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you hear disparaging comments about rhododendrons from Loggers or Foresters it is probably about this plant. Unlike most other rhododendrons, R. macrophyllum<\/em> (and other plants in the Pontica section) create a very thick undergrowth which can make some terrains nearly impossible to traverse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warfare<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A few rhododendrons in the Pontica section, like R. macrophyllum<\/em>, contain a natural neurotoxin (grayanotoxins). Persians and Greeks used this knowledge in warfare, literally using rhododendron honey to over-throw invading armies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

No part or product (such as honey) made from R. macrophyllum<\/em> should be consumed or used by humans. Do not burn the wood in a campfire–see Texas A&M University at https:\/\/research.tamu.edu\/2014\/11\/03\/how-eating-mad-honey-cost-pompey-the-great-1000-soldiers\/<\/a> and Scottish Centre for Infection & Environmental Health (https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/rapid-response\/2011\/10\/28\/honey-poisoning-beware-rhododendron<\/a>. Bees are not affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information see: <\/strong>OSU\u2019s College of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Horticulture, Landscaping Plants at https:\/\/landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu\/plants\/rhododendron-macrophyllum<\/a> and the American Rhododendron Society at https:\/\/www.rhododendron.org\/descriptionS_new.asp?ID=114<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From https:\/\/landscapeplants.oregonstate.edu\/plants\/rhododendron-macrophyllum<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bit of magic happens along the Oregon Coast in April and May\u2014the wild rhododendrons begin to bloom!  Rhododendron macrophyllum or more commonly the \u2018Western Rhododendron\u2019 produces a lovely five-lobed, bell-shaped bloom. Imagine 20 or more single pale pink to rosy-purple blooms clustered in trusses that cover a small tree or large shrub with large… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10463,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362719],"tags":[1362716,1362717,1362722],"class_list":["post-2329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flora","tag-flora","tag-flowers","tag-rhododendrons"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10463"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2329"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3403,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2329\/revisions\/3403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/coastaltourism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}