Blooming primarily from May through July, there is probably no other, or even more showy wildflower that better represents the wildlands of southwest Oregon than the common Western Azalea, Rhododendron occidentale. This flower's white to deep pink united petals have a deep yellowish blotch on the upper lobe, and its sweet perfume scents the air on warm days. This native azalea ranges southward into northern California throughout the “Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion” and can also found along the Sierra Nevada.  In southern Oregon, and found in abundance from the coast to the Cascades, Western Azaleas rarely venture in nature much further north than the Umpqua River.

While its individual clusters of 5 to 20 flowers are most appreciated in full bloom, each year I’ve come to look for certain wilted blossoms.  Whimsically, I think the dangling, withered blooms, suspended on the stigma end of flower’s long, drooping styles, really do look of little bit like headless “dead chickens” hanging in the butcher’s shop of yesteryears. (I hope this analogy doesn’t forever spoil Western Azaleas for you.)