Rhododendron 'Raphael de Smet', which is a prior to 1889 L. de Smet Ghent hybrid, 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.
To date, all Ghent deciduous azaleas have tested as triploid or tetraploid.
Rhododendron 'Raphael de Smet' was also determined to be a tetraploid using flow cytometry by Tom Eeckhaut.
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Triploid 'Bronze Unique',
Triploid 'Daviesii',
Triploid 'Deep Rose',
Triploid 'Gloria Mundi',
Triploid 'Josephine Klinger',
Tetraploid 'Bijou des Amateurs',
Tetraploid 'Comte de Flandre',
Tetraploid 'Heureuse Surprise',
Tetraploid 'Ignacea',
Tetraploid 'Julius Caesar',
Tetraploid 'Lelia',
Tetraploid 'Madame Gustave Guillemot',
Tetraploid 'Nancy Waterer',
Tetraploid 'Raphael de Smet'
Source: Arnold Arboretum Accession Number: 19064
Source: Azaleatuin
John and Sally Perkins
