But in general terms, they can be described as a large genus of flowering woody plants. Naturally occurring species have five-petalled flowers. To adapt to different environments the plants grow in an enormous variety of forms, and produce flowers in many different shapes including funnel, bell and dish shapes; the leaves may be ovate, oval or elongated.
總而言之，杜鵑是木本花卉中的大家族，原生杜鵑，花冠五裂；為了適應不同環境，外型變異極大，花樣繁多，花型有漏斗、鐘狀、碟型… …；葉子有卵型、橢圓、長型… …。