Pontic rhododendron - an ancient ornament of the Adygea land

In the Republic of Adygea one can admire the blossoming of high-mountain vegetation - there is an abundance of Caucasian rhododendrons, primroses, anemones and a couple of dozens of other plants, many of which are unique relics and endemics.

 Rhododendrons belong to the Heather family and are related to Ledum, cranberry, bilberry and lingonberry; they have medicinal properties. Modern medicine counts at least nine medicinal species among them.

Pontic rhododendron (Latin: Rhododendron ponticum) is a dense creeping multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, reaching a height of 1.5-2.5 m, with evergreen leathery leaves of rich color. Flowers are 5 cm in diameter, purple, often with small greenish-yellow spots or veins, fragrant; collected in large ball-shaped inflorescences at the ends of shoots. Each of them contains from 8 to 20 flowers.

Prolonged flowering begins in spring, in May-June, at the same time new leaves appear.

Fossil evidence suggests that prior to the late-glacial maximum, the species had a much wider range throughout much of southern and western Europe. Pontic rhododendron is currently represented by two separated populations, one in the southwestern Iberian Peninsula (central and southern Portugal and southwestern Spain) and the other near the southern Black Sea basin (eastern Bulgaria, northern Turkey, Syria, central Lebanon, Georgia, and the North Caucasus).

Curiously, the species' ranges overlap exactly in what the ancient Greeks called the Pontic region. The species has been introduced to Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the British Isles!

Pontic rhododendron was very popular in the horticultural practice of our country. The species is winter-hardy and fruitful on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, it is used in landscaping of Sochi and Adler. It grows in Krasnaya Polyana in the valleys of the Mzymta and Achipse rivers, as well as on the northern slope of the Aibga Ridge. In the Republic of Adygea Pontic rhododendron grows in the northern section of the Caucasus State Natural Biosphere Reserve named after Kh. G. Shaposhnikov in the valley of the Belaya River and its tributaries - Molchepa, Berezovaya, Chessu, Kishi, Kitayka.

The nectar of Pontic rhododendron contains andromedotoxin, so it is extremely poisonous - it can cause hallucinations and make breathing difficult. There is a legend that in 401 B.C. in Colchis the whole army of the ancient Greek commander Xenophon lost consciousness after tasting the fragrant honey. It took three days for the soldiers to regain consciousness!