| 释义 |
‖ rhododendron|rəʊdəˈdɛndrən|
Plural: rhododendrons, -dendra.
[late L., a. Gr. ῥοδόδενδρον, f. ῥόδον rose + δένδρον tree.]
†1. = rhododaphne. Obs.
1601Holland Pliny I. 469 As for the Oleander, although it be called the Sabine herb, yet it commeth from the Greeks, as may appeare by the name Rhododendron. Some haue called it Nerion; others Rhododaphne. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 611 Sauine,..Rhododendron, or Rose-tree.
2. A genus of showy ericaceous shrubs or low trees, akin to the azaleas, much cultivated for their evergreen foliage and profusion of large, beautiful flowers; a plant or flower belonging to this genus.
The garden varieties are derived mainly from R. ponticum, a native of Pontus and the Caucasus.
1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. Sept., Flowers in Prime, or yet lasting... Rhododendron white and red [etc.]. 1785Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xix. (1794) 268 Andromedas, Rhododendrons,..and a few others, have regular monopetalous corollas. 1828Q. Jrnl. Sci. XXVI. 165 The fine mountain Rhododendron of India, with scarlet flowers. 1843Thackeray Bluebeard's Ghost in Fraser's Mag. Oct. 415/1 Polyanthuses, rhododendra, ranunculuses, and other flowers..with the largest names and of the most delightful odours. 1867H. Macmillan Bible Teach. iv. (1870) 85 Luxuriant thickets of rhododendrons lighting up the green recesses with their gorgeous crimson flowers.
3. attrib., as rhododendron bush, rhododendron thicket, rhododendron tree, etc.
1855Kingsley Westw. Ho! xix, Through woods of wild plantain, and rhododendron thickets. 1859Lang Wand. India 409 Some of the hills are literally covered with rhododendron trees, fifty or sixty feet high. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. ii. xiii, Lightly whipping the rhododendron bush in front of her. |