Rhododendron roadie

A carpet of fallen Rhododendron flowers in Dunedin Botanic Garden features in this fifth image in the “Tunnel vision” series from Friday 4 November.  They made the ground (and my clothes) sticky.

Planting the Rhododendron Dell was begun in 1914 with plants collected from around the world and then enriched by hybridisation.  The main taller trees originate from the higher ground of Asia, especially China and Himalayas.  It’s unusual to see such colour like this in New Zealand’s native forest.  Our flowers are often white, probably in part to make them stand out at night for our wonderful array of native moths to locate and pollinate.