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Scientific name:	Rhododendron formosanum Hemsl
English name:	Formosan rhododendron

Features:

The Formosan rhododendron is an evergreen, broad-leafed tree with many trunks that is found on high mountains and is quite famous around the world as an ornamental plant. The tree's buds are covered and protected with scales, and its leaves grow in alternate patterns and are stalked. The flowers on the Formosan rhododendron have a sympetalous, funnel-like corolla that ends in large, terminal clusters; a five-lobe calyx; 5-10 stamens with two anthers on each; ruptured apical pores; and 5-10 ovaries. This genus has about 800 species worldwide, and the majority of them are evergreen or deciduous shrubs, not trees. In Taiwan, there are 17 native species and 40 introduced species. The Formosan rhododendron's flowers turn from pink to white between mid-March and mid-April, their tender leaves grow from late-April onward, and their fruits mature in mid-October.

Habitat:

Formosan rhododendrons are usually found scattered throughout warm-temperate Chamaecyparis forests, broad-leaved forests, and subtropical broad-leaved forests located at lower elevations, especially at 1000-1500m elevations. They seldom grow in large groups and are most numerous in the mountainous areas of central Taiwan, especially on Mount Ali.