Rhodora

This must be Rhododendron Canadense, though I have trouble getting the count of 10 stamens that is supposed to identify this species. Another possibility might be pinkshell azalea, R. Vaseyi (5 to 7 stamens), but that is only known to grow in a few areas in and near North Carolina, or as a garden escape in Massachusetts, and despite similarities in color and overall shape doesn't have such dramatic "splits" between top and bottom sets of petals, and between the two bottom petals, as are clearly visible here. This species enjoys a complicated taxonomy thanks to a long history of changing classifications. Within genus Rhododendron, there are eight subgeni, two of which make up the rankless group "azalea". One of the two is Pentanthera. Within Pentanthera is a "section" called Rhodora that includes this species and R. vaseyi. Near the summit of South Baldface, June 16 2007 This image is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.