Rhododendrons of the Tropical Seacoasts and Plains by John E.
Swisher, Homestead, Florida For the most part correctly,
rhododendrons are commonly regarded as inhabitants of cool,
montane environments, even those tender to frost. Nonetheless,
in such a large genus it is perhaps not surprising that a few
species have adapted to quite different conditions. Among those
of section Vireya a small proportion are found in the tropical
lowlands, and several occur at sea level. Thus Beccari (1)
encountered R. brookeanum in a most definitive setting of the
Torrid Zone - growing as an epiphyte on mangroves in equatorial
Borneo, "a lovely plant with large yellow flowers." It had been
named by Sir Hugh Low in honor of his friend Sir James Brooke,
the first white rajah of Sarawak. Low comments, "I shall never
forget the first discovery of this gorgeous plant; it was
epiphytical upon a tree which was growing in the water of a
creek. The head of flowers was very large, arranged loosely, of
the richest golden yellow, resplende