QBARS - v31n2 Book Review

Book Review
Dr. August E. Kehr
Reprinted from the Potomac Valley Chapter Newsletter

A TREATISE ON NATIVE AZALEAS, by Dr. Sigmond L. Solymosy

For anyone interested in the Eastern native azaleas, an 80 page bulletin on the description and growth of these plants is available for $2.50 from Mrs. Ira S. Nelson, Box 4-0175, University of Southern Louisiana, Lafayette, La. 70504. The publication is the result of twenty years of critical review of the literature, experimental work, and studies of herbarium and field collections from throughout the southern states by Dr. Sigmond L. Solymosy, who died in 1974.

This publication is especially valuable in describing the many forms of the fourteen species of native azaleas found in the Eastern United States. An interesting observation is made in the brief section on culture as follows:

"Members of these species tolerate more in their native habitat than one may assume. Several clones grow practically in water. The water has to be fresh and moving however."

For those interested in native azaleas, this booklet would be a valuable text and a source of interesting reading material.