Rhododendron periclymenoides, (Pinxterflower) is a deciduous shrub native to the eastern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Flowers appear before the leaves expand. It ranges from New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 to Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 and Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

and are relatively frequent though widely scattered along streams, in deciduous forests and woodlands. The ranges of Mountain Azalea (R. canescens) and Woolly Azalea (R. prinophyllum) overlap with the range of this species.

Rhododendron periclymenoides make wonderful landscape plants but all parts of the plant are toxic.