Rhododendron 'Chattooga' has been determined to be a tetraploid using flow cytometry by
Dr. João Loureiro, Dr. Silvia Castro, José Cerca, and Mariana Castro
Plant Ecology and Evolution Group,
Centre for Functional Ecology,
Department of Life Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
University of Coimbra, Portugal.
'Chattooga', found near the Chattooga River which forms the boundary between South Carolina and Georgia, is a natural hybrid of Rhododendron calendulaceum. 'Chattooga' is both seed and pollen fertile.
Audra State Park in West Virginia also contains natural hybrids of Rhododendron calendulaceum. Such natural hybrids occur when tetraploid and diploid deciduous azalea species, blooming at the same time, coexist.
Rhododendron calendulaceum is a tetraploid species.
Summary of Ploidy levels
Tetraploid 'Chattooga',
Tetraploid Rhododendron calendulaceum
Source: John and Sally Perkins
John and Sally Perkins
