Along with Rhododendrons blooming are Azaleas. Do you know what the major difference is between these two flowers? Azaleas are actually a Rhododendron species, but the major, physical difference between the two is the number of stamen each has. Azaleas have 5 stamen, and Rhododendrons have at least 10 stamen. Remember this little fact, and you’ll become nn expert in no time identifying these flowering shrubs! Below are a few images of colorful Azaleas.
Azalea and Peony
In contrast, here are a few images of Rhododendrons with their higher number of stamen.
All images property of Peggy A Thompson
northwestphotos 
Glorious!
Even when rhododendrons and azaleas were our two main crops, I did not get close enough to count stamens. For our Western azalea, the names were used interchangeably.
Thanks for the lesson in telling Rhodies and Azaleas apart. I’ve mostly relied on the general appearance, but it’s nice to verify by counting stamens. We have wild ones of both growing up in the hills beyond the house. The two blooms are quite different, so they’re easy to tell apart when in flower… otherwise it gets to be more difficult. 😉