Bot. Pl. -as. [a. mod.L. azalea (Linn.), a. Gr. ἀζαλέα, fem. of ἀζαλέος dry; so named either from the dry soil in which it flourishes, or from its dry brittle wood.] A genus of shrubby plants (N.O. Ericaceæ), natives of the northern hemisphere, growing in sandy soil, and blooming profusely, with showy and mostly fragrant flowers, pure white or yellow, or streaked and stained with crimson. The one British species (A. procumbens), found in the Scotch Highlands, is by some made a distinct genus, Loiseleuria.
1753. in Chambers, Cycl. Supp.
1803. J. Abercrombie, Gard. Calend., 605. Hardy kinds of flowering shrubs and trees…. Such as roses … dog-woods, azaleas, [etc.].
1881. Blackmore, Christowell, i. The white chalice of azalea.
