There are many characteristics used by taxonomists to distinguish between what gardeners call rhododendrons versus azaleas. For our purposes, we will use a simple trait, namely, the location of the flowers. Rhododendrons are those plants that bear their flowers at the end i.e. terminal bud, of the stem. Azaleas will be those that have flowers all along their stems.

Rhododendron Species Index - Listed above are the rhododendrons that have been a specific cultivar name. This means that through either cross breeding or selection, these plants have been isolated by humans and are then reproduced true to type by asexual means.

On the other hand, a species is a plant that is found in nature or the "wild" without the input of mankind. There are hundreds of species in the genus, Rhododendron. Listed below are just a few for which we have been able to take images over the years in gardens around the U.S., Canada, Europe and the U.K.