Once again, the giant rhododendron that is on the corner of 15th and Exchange streets is in glorious full bloom. Coincidentally, the root system underneath the blossoms is almost as impressive. The Ear suspects it’s a humongous bush but lays no claim to being a botanist.

As eye-popping as it is, this rhododendron is still a baby compared to its cousin, what the Guinness World Records declared as the largest rhododendron tree in 1993 at 65 feet high. It’s on Mount Japfü, a mountain peak in the Barail Range, located in the Indian state of Nagaland. But that was a long time ago. More recent observations from incredibleindia.org tout the rhododendron as having grown to 109 feet high.

Jeff and Wendy Grant’s Pacific rhododendron tree in Florence was recognized as the state and nation’s largest rhododendron of its species in an article that was posted June 5, 2009, in Coos Bay’s The World. It was 24 feet tall, the trunk was 37 inches, and the crown spread was 21 feet. But that was a long time ago.

No one seems to know how old the Astoria rhododendron is. Apparently, no one knows how old the oldest rhododendron is, wherever it may be. However, a good contender would be the 170-year-old tree near Truro, Cornwall, in the U.K., which is still growing.

As an aside, “Trees of Greater Portland,” by Phyllis C. Reynolds and Elizabeth F. Dimon mentions: “Many tiny ponticum (rhododendrons) were distributed at the 1905 Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland. For reasons no one now knows, the ones that were left over were taken to Astoria and planted.”

The giant rhododendron across from Fort George is not a ponticum rhododendron … and where those seeds were planted in Astoria is still a mystery.

Anyway, it would be no easy feat to figure out what type any particular rhododendron is since just one book, “Greer’s Guidebook to Available Rhododendrons” covers “over 1,100 species and over 3800 hybrids.” (Photo: Elleda Wilson)