Shrubs or trees, to 7 m, rhizomatous or not. Stems: bark smooth to vertically furrowed, shredding; twigs sparsely to conspicuously multicellular eglandular-hairy (hairs unbranched), otherwise glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy. Leaves deciduous; petiole usually multicellular eglandular-hairy and unicellular-hairy; blade ovate to obovate, 2-7(-9) × 1-3(-3.8) cm, ± thin, membranous to chartaceous, margins entire or, sometimes, minutely serrulate, plane, ciliate, eglandular-hairy, apex acute to obtuse, often mucronate, abaxial surface glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy, adaxial surface (lustrous or dull), glabrous or sparsely scattered eglandular-hairy, sometimes also sparsely unicellular-hairy. Floral bud scales glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy abaxially (sometimes with sharply marked, dark brown band along distal margins), margins unicellular-ciliate or, sometimes, glandular-serrulate. Inflorescences 3-14-flowered; bracts similar to bud scales. Pedicels 5-27 mm, stipitate-glandular-or, sometimes, eglandular-hairy, otherwise sparsely to densely unicellular-hairy. Flowers opening after leaves, erect to horizontal, slightly to strongly fragrant (most noticeable at night); calyx lobes 0.5-5 mm, surfaces and margins scattered stipitate-glandular-hairy or, sometimes, eglandular-hairy, often also unicellular-hairy; corolla white, sometimes pink-tinged or pink (not strongly contrasting with white or greenish to pinkish style or filaments), without blotch on upper lobe, funnelform, 20-58 mm, usually scattered, often conspicuously stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs continuing in lines up lobes), otherwise sparsely to moderately unicellular-hairy on outer surface, petals connate, lobes 7-21 mm, tube usually ± gradually expanded into lobes, 13-37 mm (equaling or much longer than lobes); stamens 5, much exserted, ± unequal, 21-65 mm. Capsules borne on erect pedicels, 7-20 × 3-7 mm, usually densely stipitate-glandular-and/or eglandular-hairy, otherwise densely unicellular-hairy to ± glabrous. Seeds without distinct tails, flattened portion of testa well developed at each end; testa expanded, dorsiventrally flattened, ± loose. 2n = 26.
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Shrub 1–2 m, often colonial, much branched and with ± setose-pubescent young twigs; lvs 3–6 cm, setose-hairy, not glandular, oblanceolate to obovate, acute to rounded and mucronulate; bud-scales broadly rounded; fls spicy-fragrant; pedicels and cor-tube stipitate-glandular and minutely hairy; sep minute; cor white (pink), 2–4 cm wide, the tube 2–3 cm, the lobes 1.5–2 cm; style projecting 1–5(–10) mm beyond the anthers at anthesis, usually puberulent for 1 cm or more at the base. Wet woods and swamps; Me. to O. and Fla. June, July. (Azalea v.)
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