Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii

Chapman's rhododendron
Conservation status
Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Endangered  (ESA) [2] [3]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Rhododendron
Species:	R. minus
Variety:	R. m. var. chapmanii
Trinomial name
Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii (Alph.Wood) Gandhi & Zarucchi [4]
Synonyms [4]
Azalea chapmanii(Alph. Wood) Kuntze Rhododendron chapmanii(Alph. Wood) A. Gray Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii(Alph. Wood) W.H. Duncan & Pullen Rhododendron punctatum var. chapmaniiAlph. Wood

Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii (syn. Rhododendron chapmanii), also known as Chapman's rhododendron, ^[5] is an endangered variety, endemic to Florida, of the evergreen Piedmont rhododendron. ^{[6] [7]}

Description

Chapman's rhododendron grows to 2 metres tall and has an erect habit. New growth is red-brown, turning gray with age. The leaves are elliptic and are 3 to 6.5 cm long. Pink flowers with five petals and 10 stamens appear in the spring (March to April in Florida). ^[6]

Distribution

There are three separate populations of the species within Florida, one in Clay County, the second in Gulf County and the third on the county line of Gadsden and Liberty counties. ^[6]

Taxonomy

Per Gandhi and Zarucchi, ^[8] Duncan and Pullen incorrectly made a full citation to Asa Gray's proposal for a new combination Rhododendron chapmanii in support of naming Rhododendron minusvar.chapmanii, as Gray had cited Alphonso Wood's prior valid publication of Rhododendron punctatum var. chapmanii as his basionym. Duncan and Pullen's 1962 publication of Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii was held to be invalid by Gandhi and Zarucchi under the Vienna Code for plant taxonomic nomenclature, which does not allow for indirect references to a basionym to be made for publications of new combinations in 1953 or later (a full citation would be required to the original source). ^[9]

References

1. NatureServe (1 November 2025). "Rhododendron chapmanii". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
2. "Chapman rhododendron (Rhododendron chapmanii)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
3. Smith, E. LaVerne; Milstead, Wayne; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (24 April 1979). "Determination that Rhododendron chapmanii is an Endangered Species". Federal Register. 44 (80): 24248–24250. 44 FR 24248
4. "Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii (Alph. Wood) Gandhi & Zarucchi". The Plant List. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
5. NRCS. "Rhododendron chapmanii". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 October 2015.
6. Rhododendron chapmanii. Endangered and Threatened Species of the Southeastern United States (The Red Book) FWS Region 4. (As of 2/91).
7. "Florida's Federally Listed Plant Species". Florida Forest Service. Retrieved 10 Feb 2012.
8. Gandhi, Kanchi N.; Zarucchi, James L. (2009). "Validation of Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii (Ericaceae)". Harvard Papers in Botany. 14 (1): 1. doi:10.3100/025.014.0101.
9. "International Code of Botanical Nomenclature" (Web ed.). Paul van Rijckevorsel. 2014 [Originally adopted in July 2005 at the Seventeenth International Botanical Conference in Vienna, Austria and published in 2006]. Retrieved 3 November 2025. Article 33 is referenced by Gandhi and Zarucchi.