The Black Elster or Schwarze Elster ( German , pronounced [ˌʃvaʁtsə ˈʔɛlstɐ] ; Lower Sorbian : Carny Halšter ; Upper Sorbian : Čorny Halštrow ) is a 179-kilometre (111 mi) long river in eastern Germany , in the states of Saxony , Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt . It is a right tributary of the Elbe . Its source is in the Upper Lusatia region, near Elstra .
55-490: The Black Elster flows through the cities Kamenz/Kamjenc , Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy , Senftenberg/Zły Komorow , Lauchhammer , Elsterwerda , Bad Liebenwerda , Herzberg and Jessen . It flows into the river Elbe at Elster (Elbe) , upstream from Wittenberg . The river rises in the Lusatian Highlands ( Upper Lusatia ) about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) south of the village Kindisch in the borough of Elstra on
110-642: A Daimler-Benz aircraft engine factory. The airfield northeast of the town was used by Luftwaffe Schlachtgeschwader 2 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 units. After the war, the town became part of the Soviet occupation zone and East Germany . Until 1990, an officer candidate school of the East German Air Force Staff ( Offiziershochschule Franz Mehring ) was located at the Kamenz Airfield. The former municipality Schönteichen
165-468: A chromosome number of x=13, fruit that has a septicidal capsule , an ovary that is superior (or nearly so), stamens that have no appendages, and agglutinate (clumped) pollen . Rhododendron is the largest genus in the family Ericaceae , with over 1,000 species, (though estimates vary from 850 to 1,200) and is morphologically diverse. Consequently, the taxonomy has been historically complex. Although Rhododendrons had been known since
220-431: A cladistic analysis. They confirmed that the genus Rhododendron was monophyletic , with subgenus Therorhodion in the basal position , consistent with the matK studies. Following publication of the studies of Goetsch et al. (2005) with RPB2 , there began an ongoing realignment of species and groups within the genus, based on evolutionary relationships. Their work was more supportive of Sleumer's original system than
275-452: A sister to all other rhododendrons. The small polyphyletic subgenera Pentanthera and Azaleastrum were divided between two clades. The four sections of Pentanthera between clades B and C , with two each, while Azaleastrum had one section in each of A and C . Thus subgenera Azaleastrum and Pentanthera needed to be disassembled, and Rhododendron , Hymenanthes and Tsutsusi correspondingly expanded. In addition to
330-540: A hierarchy of subgenus, section, subsection, and species. Terminology from the Sleumer (1949) system is frequently found in older literature, with five subgenera and is as follows; In the later traditional classification, attributed to Chamberlain (1996), and as used by horticulturalists and the American Rhododendron Society , Rhododendron has eight subgenera based on morphology , namely
385-909: A lesser degree in the Mountainous areas of North America and Western Eurasia . Subgenus Tsutsusi is found in the maritime regions of East Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, East China ), but not in North America or Eurasia. In the United States, native Rhododendron mostly occur in lowland and montane forests in the Pacific Northwest , California , the Northeast , and the Appalachian Mountains . Rhododendron ponticum has become invasive in Ireland and
440-419: A new subgenus was created by elevating subgenus Azaleastrum section Choniastrum to subgenus rank. Subgenus Pentanthera (deciduous azaleas) with its four sections was dismembered by eliminating two sections and redistributing the other two between the existing subgenera in clades B ( Hymenanthes ) and C ( Azaleastrum ), although the name was retained in section Pentanthera (14 species) which
495-917: A northwesterly direction through Bad Liebenwerda , Herzberg and Jessen before emptying into the Elbe in the municipality of Elster (Elbe) (river kilometre 198.5). The most important tributaries of the Black Elster are the Hoyerswerdaer Schwarzwasser , the Pulsnitz , the Große Röder , the Kleine Elster and the Schweinitzer Fließ . Field Marshal Blücher crossed the Elbe River near its confluence with
550-413: A single section, and some sections only a single subsection. Shown here is the traditional classification, with species number after Chamberlain (1996), but this scheme is undergoing constant revision. Revisions by Goetsch et al. (2005) and by Craven et al. (2008) shown in ( parenthetical italics ). Older ranks such as Series (groups of species) are no longer used but may be found in the literature, but
605-418: A subgenus of Rhododendron . In 1987 Spethmann, adding phytochemical features proposed a system with fifteen subgenera grouped into three 'chorus' subgenera. A number of closely related genera had been included together with Rhododendron in a former tribe, Rhodoreae. These have been progressively incorporated into Rhododendron . Chamberlain and Rae moved the monotypic section Tsusiopsis together with
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#1732766045262660-472: Is a genus of shrubs and small to (rarely) large trees , the smallest species growing to 10–100 cm (4–40 in) tall, and the largest, R. protistum var. giganteum , reported to 30 m (100 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged; leaf size can range from 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) to over 50 cm (20 in), exceptionally 100 cm (40 in) in R. sinogrande . They may be either evergreen or deciduous . In some species,
715-640: Is known for its major rhododendron and azalea collections flowering at Pentecost . In 1864 the Lessing Tower was erected on the hilltop, offering a panoramic view over the West Lusatian lands and the Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape in the north. About 32% of the nature in former Kamenz District is under protection, including a network of routes for riding by bicycle and hiking. The town Kamenz consists of Thale Kamenz and
770-458: Is subgenus Rhododendron , containing nearly half of all known species and all of the lepidote species. For a comparison of the Sleumer and Chamberlain systems, see Goetsch et al. (2005) Table 1. This division was based on a number of what were thought to be key morphological characteristics. These included the position of the inflorescence buds (terminal or lateral), whether lepidote or elepidote, deciduousness of leaves, and whether new foliage
825-672: The Himalayan region, but smaller numbers occur elsewhere in Asia, and in North America, Europe and Australia. It is the national flower of Nepal , the state flower of Washington and West Virginia in the United States, the state flower of Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh in India, the provincial flower of Jeju Province in South Korea, the provincial flower of Jiangxi in China and
880-733: The Maritime Southeast Asia from their presumed Southeast Asian origin to Northern Australia, with 55 known species in Borneo and 164 in New Guinea . The species in New Guinea are native to subalpine moist grasslands at around 3,000 metres above sea level in the Central Highlands. Subgenera Rhododendron and Hymenanthes , together with section Pentanthera of subgenus Pentanthera are also represented to
935-840: The Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47, the Upper Lusatian towns refused to support the troops of the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand I against the Protestant princes and were penalised with the loss of numerous privileges. The Franciscan convent finally dissolved in 1564. With the 1635 Peace of Prague , the Lusatias passed from the Bohemian Crown to the Electorate of Saxony . Several witch-hunts are documented in
990-591: The Solomon Islands . The centres of diversity are in the Himalayas and Maritime Southeast Asia , with the greatest species diversity in the Sino-Himalayan region, Southwest China and northern Burma , from India – Himachal Pradesh , Uttarakhand , Sikkim and Nagaland to Nepal , northwestern Yunnan and western Sichuan and southeastern Tibet . Other significant areas of diversity are in
1045-529: The United Kingdom . It is an introduced species, spreading in woodland areas and replacing the natural understory. R. ponticum is difficult to eradicate, as its roots can make new shoots. A number of insects either target rhododendrons or will opportunistically attack them. Rhododendron borers and various weevils are major pests of rhododendrons, and many caterpillars will preferentially devour them. Rhododendron species are used as food plants by
1100-452: The larvae ( caterpillars ) of some butterflies and moths ; see List of Lepidoptera that feed on rhododendrons. Major diseases include Phytophthora root rot, stem and twig fungal dieback. Rhododendron bud blast, a fungal condition that causes buds to turn brown and dry before they can open, is caused by the fungus Pycnostysanus azaleae , which may be brought to the plant by the rhododendron leafhopper, Graphocephala fennahi . In
1155-438: The nursery trade. Rhododendrons can be propagated by air layering or stem cuttings. They can self-propagate by sending up shoots from the roots. Sometimes an attached branch that has drooped to the ground will root in damp mulch, and the resulting rooted plant then can be cut off the parent rhododendron. They can also be reprodcued by seed dispersal - or by horticulturalists collecting the spent flower buds and saving ad drying
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#17327660452621210-474: The state tree of Sikkim and Uttarakhand in India. Most species have brightly colored flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer. Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron . They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower. The common and generic name comes from Ancient Greek ῥόδον rhódon 'rose' and δένδρον déndron 'tree'. Rhododendron
1265-611: The 17th century. In 1707 a fire destroyed large parts of the old town . A second major fire on 4 and 5 August 1842 destroyed much of the city. In 1896, Kamenz became garrison town of the Königlich Sächsisches Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 242 , part of the German 53rd Reserve Division . During World War II a subcamp of Gross-Rosen concentration camp was located in the town from 1944 to 1945, where forced labourers worked for
1320-587: The American Rhododendron Society still uses a similar device, called Alliances The system used by the World Flora Online as of December 2023 uses six subgenera, four of which are divided further: Species of the genus Rhododendron are widely distributed between latitudes 80°N and 20°S and are native to areas from North America to Europe , Russia , and Asia , and from Greenland to Queensland , Australia and
1375-596: The Black Elster on 3 Oct 1813 on his march to Leipzig . Kamenz Kamenz ( German: [ˈkaːmɛnts] ) or Kamjenc ( Sorbian , pronounced [ˈkamʲɛnts] ) is a town ( Große Kreisstadt ) in the district of Bautzen in Saxony , Germany . Until 2008 it was the administrative seat of Kamenz District . The town is known as the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Bruno Hauptmann , convicted kidnapper of
1430-487: The Edinburgh group, placing more emphasis on the lepidote characteristics of the leaves, united all of the lepidote species into subgenus Rhododendron , including four of Sleumer's subgenera ( Rhododendron , Pseudoazalea , Pseudorhodorastrum , Rhodorastrum ). In 1986 Philipson & Philipson raised two sections of subgenus Aleastrum ( Mumeazalea , Candidastrum ) to subgenera, while reducing genus Therorhodion to
1485-614: The Lindbergh baby (though his guilt is questionable). It lies north-east of the major city of Dresden . This small town is located in the west of the Upper Lusatia historic region ( West Lusatia ), about 40 km (25 mi) northeast of Dresden and about 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Bautzen . Situated on the Black Elster river, between the West Lusatian Hills and the Lusatian Highlands rising in
1540-741: The UK the forerunner of the Rhododendron, Camellia and Magnolia Group (RCMG), The Rhododendron Society was founded in 1916. while in Scotland species are being conserved by the Rhododendron Species Conservation Group. Both species and hybrid rhododendrons (including azaleas) are used extensively as ornamental plants in landscaping in many parts of the world, including both temperate and subtemperate regions. Many species and cultivars are grown commercially for
1595-572: The description of Rhododendron hirsutum by Charles de l'Écluse (Clusius) in the sixteenth century, and were known to classical writers (Magor 1990), and referred to as Chamaerhododendron (low-growing rose tree), the genus was first formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum in 1753. He listed five species under Rhododendron : R. ferrugineum (the type species ), R. dauricum , R. hirsutum , R. chamaecistus (now Rhodothamnus chamaecistus (L.) Rchb.) and R. maximum . At that time he considered
1650-600: The eastern flank of the 396-metre (1,299 ft) high Kuppe , a subpeak of the Hochstein . From here the Black Elster flows initially in a northerly direction through Elstra, Kamenz , Milstrich and Wittichenau ; from Hoyerswerda it flows in westwards to Elsterheide . Further downstream, after 63 kilometres (39 mi), it crosses the Saxon-Brandenburg border and flows through Senftenberg , Ruhland and Lauchhammer to Elsterwerda . From here it heads in
1705-530: The following Ortschaften or municipal divisions: The settlement arose in the late 12th century, when a fortress was erected at the location of today's old town, in order to secure the junction of the medieval Via Regia trade route with the Black Elster river. From here, the Via Regia offered important transport links from the Low Countries up to Silesia . In 1225, written records first mentioned
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1760-561: The genus divided into eight sections. Of these Tsutsutsi ( Tsutsusi ), Pentanthera , Pogonanthum , Ponticum and Rhodora are still used, the other sections being Lepipherum , Booram , and Chamaecistus . This structure largely survived till recently (2004), following which the development of molecular phylogeny led to major re-examinations of traditional morphological classifications, although other authors such as Candolle, who described six sections, used slightly different numeration. Soon, as more species became available in
1815-425: The heath complex in oak-heath forests in eastern North America. They have frequently been divided based on the presence or absence of scales on the abaxial (lower) leaf surface ( lepidote or elepidote). These scales, unique to subgenus Rhododendron , are modified hairs consisting of a polygonal scale attached by a stalk. Rhododendron are characterised by having inflorescences with scarious (dry) perulae ,
1870-520: The later modifications introduced by Chamberlain et al. . The major finding of Goetsch and colleagues was that all species examined (except R. camtschaticum , subgenus Therorhodion ) formed three major clades which they labelled A , B , and C , with the subgenera Rhododendron and Hymenanthes as monophyletic groups nested within clades A and B , respectively. By contrast subgenera Azaleastrum and Pentanthera were polyphyletic , while R. camtschaticum appeared as
1925-492: The monotypic genus Tsusiophyllum into section Tsutsusi , while Kron & Judd reduced genus Ledum to a subsection of section Rhododendron . Then Judd & Kron moved two species ( R. schlippenbachii and R. quinquefolium ) from section Brachybachii , subgenus Tsutsusi and two from section Rhodora , subgenus Pentanthera ( R. albrechtii , R. pentaphyllum ) into section Sciadorhodion , subgenus Pentanthera . Finally Chamberlain brought
1980-574: The mountains of Korea , Japan and Taiwan . More than 90% of Rhododendron sensu Chamberlain belong to the Asian subgenera Rhododendron , Hymenanthes and section Tsutsusi . Of the first two of these, the species are predominantly found in the area of the Himalayas and Southwest China (Sino-Himalayan Region). The 300 tropical species within the Vireya section of subgenus Rhododendron occupy
2035-677: The nearby town of Wittichenau before they marched against Bautzen. In 1469, along with the Lusatian League, the town recognized the rule of King Matthias Corvinus and passed to Hungary , and in 1490 it returned to the Czech Crown, then under the rule of Polish Prince Vladislaus II . In 1493, King Vladislaus II of Bohemia had a Franciscan monastery established north of the Kamenz town walls, dedicated to Saint Anne in 1512. Kamenz citizens officially turned Protestant in 1536. In
2090-415: The new section Tsutsusi , subgenus Azaleastrum . Genus Menziesa (9 species) was also added to section Sciadorhodion . The remaining small subgenus Therorhodion with its two species was left intact. Thus two subgenera, Hymenanthes and Azaleastrum were expanded at the expense of four subgenera that were eliminated, although Azaleastrum lost one section ( Choniastrum ) as a new subgenus, since it
2145-428: The nineteenth century so did a better understanding of the characteristics necessary for the major divisions. Chief amongst these were Maximovicz 's Rhododendreae Asiae Orientali and Planchon . Maximovicz used flower bud position and its relationship with leaf buds to create eight "Sections". Bentham and Hooker used a similar scheme, but called the divisions "Series". It was not until 1893 that Koehne appreciated
2200-475: The presence of scales (lepidote), deciduousness of leaves, and the floral and vegetative branching patterns, after Sleumer (1980). These consist of four large and four small subgenera. The first two subgenera ( Rhododendron and Hymenanthes ) represent the species commonly considered as 'Rhododendrons'. The next two smaller subgenera ( Pentanthera and Tsutsusi ) represent the 'Azaleas'. The remaining four subgenera contain very few species. The largest of these
2255-519: The relationship of the flower buds to the leaf buds, habitat, flower structure, and whether the leaves were lepidote or non-lepidote. While Sleumer's work was widely accepted, many in the United States and the United Kingdom continued to use the simpler Balfourian system of the Edinburgh group. Sleumer's system underwent many revisions by others, predominantly the Edinburgh group in their continuing Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh notes. Cullen of
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2310-606: The significance of scaling and hence the separation of lepidote and elepidote species. The large number of species that were available by the early twentieth century prompted a new approach when Balfour introduced the concept of grouping species into series . The Species of Rhododendron referred to this series concept as the Balfourian system. That system continued up to modern times in Davidian's four volume The Rhododendron Species . The next major attempt at classification
2365-520: The south, the town was built on greywacke and granite rocks which were mined here for centuries. Kamenz railway station is the terminus of Lübbenau–Kamenz and Kamenz–Pirna railway lines. It is served by Regionalbahn trains from Dresden Hauptbahnhof , operated by the Städtebahn Sachsen . The Hutberg hill west of the town centre, at an elevation of 293 m (961 ft), is the site of an extended landscape park laid out in 1893. It
2420-570: The then known six species of Azalea that he had described earlier in 1735 in his Systema Naturae as a separate genus. Linnaeus' six species of Azalea were Azalea indica , A. pontica , A. lutea , A. viscosa , A. lapponica and A. procumbens (now Kalmia procumbens ), which he distinguished from Rhododendron by having five stamens , as opposed to ten. As new species of what are now considered Rhododendron were discovered, they were assigned to separate genera if they seemed to differ significantly from
2475-529: The town; Kamenz became an independent city in 1319, when Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV enfeoffed the West Lusatian lands to the Luxembourg king John of Bohemia . In 1346, the citizens joined the Lusatian League for protection against robber barons and to maintain public peace ( Landfrieden ). The town was nevertheless besieged and finally occupied by Hussite forces in 1429, who also devastated
2530-577: The two separate genera included under Rhododendron by Chamberlain ( Ledum , Tsusiophyllum ), Goetsch et al. . added Menziesia (clade C ). Despite a degree of paraphyly , the subgenus Rhododendron was otherwise untouched with regard to its three sections but four other subgenera were eliminated and one new subgenus created, leaving a total of five subgenera in all, from eight in Chamberlain's scheme. The discontinued subgenera are Pentanthera , Tsutsusi , Candidastrum and Mumeazalea , while
2585-414: The type species. For instance Rhodora (Linnaeus 1763) for Rhododendron canadense , Vireya ( Blume 1826) and Hymenanthes (Blume 1826) for Rhododendron metternichii , now R. degronianum . Meanwhile, other botanists such as Salisbury (1796) and Tate (1831) began to question the distinction between Azalea and Rhododendron , and finally in 1836, Azalea was incorporated into Rhododendron and
2640-552: The undersides of the leaves are covered with scales (lepidote) or hairs (indumentum). Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large flowers. A recently discovered species in New Guinea has flowers up to six inches (fifteen centimeters) in width, the largest in the whole genus. The accompanying photograph shows it as having seven petals . There are alpine species with small flowers and small leaves, and tropical species such as section Vireya that often grow as epiphytes . Species in this genus may be part of
2695-493: The various systems together in 1996, with 1,025 species divided into eight subgenera. Goetsch (2005) provides a comparison of the Sleumer and Chamberlain schemata (Table 1). Rhododendron Choniastrum Hymenanthes Azaleastrum Therorhodion The era of molecular analysis rather than descriptive features can be dated to the work of Kurashige (1988) and Kron (1997) who used matK sequencing . Later Gao et al. (2002) used ITS sequences to determine
2750-534: Was a distinct subclade in A . In all, Hymenanthes increased from one to two sections, while Azaleastrum , by losing one section and gaining two increased from two to three sections. (See schemata under Subgenera .) Subsequent research has supported the revision by Goetsch, although has largely concentrated on further defining the phylogeny within the subdivisions. In 2011 the two species of Diplarche were also added to Rhododendron , incertae sedis . This genus has been progressively subdivided into
2805-583: Was by Sleumer who from 1934 began incorporating the Balfourian series into the older hierarchical structure of subgenera and sections, according to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature , culminating in 1949 with his "Ein System der Gattung Rhododendron L.", and subsequent refinements. Most of the Balfourian series are represented by Sleumer as subsections, though some appear as sections or even subgenera. Sleumer based his system on
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#17327660452622860-402: Was derived from axils from previous year's shoots or the lowest scaly leaves. Following the cladistic analysis of Goetsch et al. (2005) this scheme was simplified, based on the discovery of three major clades (A, B, C) as follows. Clade A Clade B Clade C Sister taxon The larger subgenera are further subdivided into sections and subsections Some subgenera contain only
2915-529: Was merged into Kamenz in January 2019. Seats in the city council ( Stadtrat ) as of 2014 local elections: Kamenz is twinned with: Rhododendron Former subgenera : Rhododendron ( / ˌ r oʊ d ə ˈ d ɛ n d r ən / ; pl. : rhododendra ) is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants and in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous . Most species are native to eastern Asia and
2970-467: Was moved to subgenus Hymenanthes . Of the remaining three sections, monotypic Viscidula was discontinued by moving R. nipponicum to Tsutsusi ( C ), while Rhodora (2 species) was itself polyphyletic and was broken up by moving R. canadense to section Pentanthera ( B ) and R. vaseyi to section Sciadorhodion , which then became a new section of subgenus Azaleastrum ( C ). Subgenus Tsutsusi ( C )
3025-411: Was reduced to section status retaining the name, and included in subgenus Azaleastrum . Of the three minor subgenera, all in C , two were discontinued. The single species of monotypic subgenus Candidastrum ( R. albiflorum ) was moved to subgenus Azaleastrum , section Sciadorhodion . Similarly the single species in monotypic subgenus Mumeazalea ( R. semibarbatum ) was placed in
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