The rhododendron

My next-door neighbour has just taken delivery of 50 rhododendron bushes, which are going to become a part of our lives here because they're going in his field, through which we walk to get to ours. So today I'm researching this plant and blogging my results here.



From Wikipedia, "Rhododendron (from the Greek: rhodos, "rose", and dendron, "tree") is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It is a large genus with over 1000 species and most have showy flower displays. It includes the plants known to gardeners as azaleas."

Rhododendrons are acidic soil-loving plants, so they'll be quite comfortable here on our Millstone Grit.

Medicinally, they're used in the homoeopathic remedy Rhododendron, which is mainly used to treat rheumatism and gout. Constitutionally, the patients responding well to this remedy are hypersentitive to thunderstorms.

According to Richard Thomas's review of Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, and Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare, in the Ancient World, by Adrienne Mayor:

...both Xenophon's and Pompey's soldiers .. encountered the naturally toxic honey native to the region of Pontus, the product of the concentrated toxins in the rhododendron plants of the region. While the idea of hallucinogenic honey sounds funny, even modest amounts of the honey could cause powerful hallucinations and painful death. Twice in ancient history, the local population remained silent about the deadly honeycombs, waiting for the hungry soldiers to forage to their own demise among the rhododendrons.

A flower essence remedy can be made from the plant, "For those who lack flexibility and keep trying to push through blind alleys."