Sighting: Rhododendron viscoum at Dedham, MA

by Steph Radner on May 12 2016

Location notes: Wetlands on east side of Wigwam Pond (near Rustcraft Road).

Comments: I was stumped on the ID until I read the "sometimes confused with R. prinophyllum" description where it says "leaf blades with few hairs on the lower surface that are confined to the midrib and sometimes also the primary lateral veins." This perfectly describes the shrub I found. There is a healthy population of these shrubs, but they are not flowering yet, so I can't check to see if is the rare variety. I think it is possible to see the hairs along the central vein through the large leave that is back lit by the sun.