Vireyas Return

A lightly fragrant Vireya rhododendron, A429, raised by Carl Deul, whose photographs illustrate this article.
There are a great many rhododendrons and to understand them better the huge genus is divided into sections; one of these is section Vireya. Rhododendrons in this section are called Malaysians because many come from the Malay peninsula and adjacent islands. However, others of the section Vireya are found further afield and the name Malesian was coined to embrace the Malay peninsula and the Polynesian islands. However, some members of section Vireya are found beyond even this area and it is clear that geographic appellations can mislead. Furthermore vireyas is shorter.
Vireya rhododendrons are too lovely to lose. Native to mountainous jungles of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago, they have a dark history and have been almost lost to plant lovers since World War I. From the 1800s until recent times, the supply of vireyas, also called Malaysians and Malesians, has been interrupted by war, theft, economic hard times and politics ­— not to mention the perils of collecting them where climate and terrain are i...