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Maer June 10th 41.

There seems two varieties of Pontic Rhod. – one, rather the commonest with smaller, darker, more pointed leaves & smaller leaves, more shrubby, with stigma nearly twice as long as stamens, & which seem to produce very little pollen. – The other or 2d & much larger flowers & leaves grows less bushy & more upright.

generally more stamens then another kind vary from 11-17. (whereas other kind seldomer has anormal quantity, some stamens carry double anthers, as in Red-Horse-chesnut) and pistil is only very little longer than stamens.

Some of the stamens in both kinds but not so visible in 1st kind on side under nectary are generally much shorter filaments thinner & have very small anthers, so as apparently to deserve to be called abortive.

The anthers first kind are quite hard & shrivelled & no pollen to naked eye, but definite under water both when dry & hard & when soft & young a few pollen grains are found to be contained in there.

There are nearly same number in the shorter & somewhat

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(a) I doubt [illeg] of these kinds – certainly some large bushes have all flowers of 2d kind & some all of 1st & in one case I found two bushes united so this is not effect of mere soil but it is partly kind of Rhod (not effect of age.

There are however intermediate bushes with intermediate quant of pollen, on wh some flower-clusters are strictly of 1st kind & some nearly 2d kind.

Is not shortness of stamens in 1st kind result of their general standing in same manner, as shortness of stamens, near nectary in 2d kind in result of these less fertility.

Uncle John thinks both my kinds are Pontic; but says there has been so many crossed with R. that hard to say.

At Camp Hill there are seedling Rhododendron all the kinds there have long stamens

[illeg] says Rhod. Ponticum is from Gibraltar

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smaller anthers on the nectary side of flower.

The pollen placed in water & left equal time with the 2d kind of Rhod. yet I could not perceive in one as decided  inside nucleus, corresponding in force to outer, but with space between. With this bad pollen there were innumerable little spherical granules – With the pollen of good or 2d, there were some [illeg-sized] grains which had no nucleus & were smaller (illeg had not swelled?)

In the long, good stamen of the second kind, pollen could be readily extracted with pin & some were naturally smeared on sides, but it was not very abundant. – in the short stamens with abortive like anthers, in the most abortive (for size varies much) no pollen could be extracted, in other some little could – but in an intermediate one dispersed under water far more pollen grains than in the largest of 1st kind. = compared again pollen of 1st & second kinds – could obtain more from old anthers of 1st – from greyish ones – compared with mature of 2d kind seemed from first immediately after immersion

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large Reddery & empty – after immersion in diluted sulph. acid, the grains of 2d kind had many (perhaps 1/3 in number) swollen larger than grains of 1st kind & seemed filled with brown matter – I could not perceive this action at all in the 1st kind.

Spent of w[illeg] made those of 1st kind.

All this require more careful examination; compared dry on m[illeg] meter & wet & then with acid.

The 1st kind does not appear to have any pollen threads – It is certain that in 1st kind pollen in excessively small in quantity & anthers very small & hard & shrivelled when mature.

junction of filament nearly as high as top of anther.

The short stamen of 2d kind do generally contain some pollen but not much.

Shrewsbury July /41/ Examined with lens last flowers of these Rhododendron bushes – all Decandria = in all stamens nearly as long a pistil – all pollen except in very old flowers even the small nectar- stamens. – the anthers of these, though evidently smaller than the large one yet do not appear shrivelled & contain pollen =