Rhododendron luteum

Rhododendron luteum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Rhododendron
Subgenus:	Rhododendron subg. Hymenanthes
Section:	Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera
Species:	R. luteum
Binomial name
Rhododendron luteum Sweet
Synonyms[1]
List Anthodendron flavum (Hoffmanns.) Rchb. Anthodendron ponticum (L.) Rchb. Azalea flava Hoffmanns. Azalea pontica L. Azalea pontica var. flava (Hoffmanns.) DC. Rhododendron indicum var. luteum (Sweet) G.Don Rhododendron flavum (Hoffmanns.) G.Don Rhododendron flavum var. coronarium Sweet Rhododendron flavum f. macranthum (Bean) Rehder Rhododendron flavum var. macranthum Bean Rhododendron luteum var. macranthum (Bean) E.H.Wilson

Rhododendron luteum, the yellow azalea or honeysuckle azalea, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to southeastern Europe and southwest Asia. In Europe, it occurs from southern Poland and Austria, south through the Balkans, and east to southern Russia; and in Asia, east to the Caucasus.

It is a shrub growing 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft). The leaves are deciduous, 5–10 cm long and 2–4 cm broad. The flowers are 3–4 cm in diameter, bright yellow, and strongly perfumed, produced in trusses of 5–25 together. The fruit is a dry capsule 15–25 mm long, containing numerous small seeds.

The nectar is toxic, containing the neurotoxin grayanotoxin; records of poisoning of people eating the honey date to the 4th century BC in Classical Greece.^[2]