Editing Rhododendron (section)

==In culture==
In [[Uttarakhand]], in [[north India]], the Buransh flower is deeply embedded in local culture, playing a significant role in festivals like Holi and weddings, where it is used in garlands and decorations to bless attendees. The flower is also utilized in making a healthful, [[antioxidant]]-rich juice that is popular during local festivities and summer months. Additionally, Buransh flowers are incorporated into local arts and crafts, where they are used to make colorful necklaces and jewelry, symbolizing the spiritual and physical prosperity of the community.<ref>{{cite web |title=Uttarakhand ka rajya pushp: Buraansh |date=24 April 2024 |url=https://raebaar.com/uttarakhand-ka-rajya-pushp-buraansh/ |access-date=25 Apr 2024 |publisher=Raebaar.com}}</ref>

The rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal.[[File:Pink Rhododendron Blossom Prashar Himachal Apr11 P1020872.jpg|thumb|State flower of Himachal Pradesh]]
In the [[language of flowers]], the rhododendron symbolizes danger and to beware.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm |title=Language of Flowers – Flower Meanings and Flower Sentiments |website=www.languageofflowers.com |access-date=26 November 2016 |archive-date=24 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124141728/http://languageofflowers.com/flowermeaning.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''[[Rhododendron arboreum]]'' (''lali guransh'') is the national flower of [[Nepal]]. ''R. ponticum'' is the [[Floral emblem|state flower]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Indian-administered Kashmir]] and [[Azad Kashmir|Pakistan-controlled Kashmir]]. ''[[Rhododendron niveum]]'' is the state tree of [[Sikkim]] in [[India]]. <!-- this paragraph needs to be moved to the species when articles are created for them. The species for Sikkim is R. niveum, which is not more tree-like than other rhododendrons and is quite a bit less tree-like than R. arboreum, R. falconeri, or R. grande (all Sikkim natives). ''[[Dendrobium nobile]]'' is the Sikkim state flower. --> Rhododendron arboreum is also the state tree of the state of [[Uttarakhand]], India. Pink Rhododendron (''[[Rhododendron campanulatum]]'') is the state flower of [[Himachal Pradesh]], India. Rhododendron is also the provincial flower of Jiangxi, China and the state flower of [[Nagaland]], the 16th state of the Indian Union.

''[[Rhododendron maximum]]'', the most widespread rhododendron of the [[Appalachian Mountains]], is the state flower of the US state of [[West Virginia]], and is in the [[Flag of West Virginia]].

''[[Rhododendron macrophyllum]]'', a widespread rhododendron of the [[Pacific Northwest]], is the state flower of the US state of [[Washington (state)|Washington]].

Amongst the [[Zomi]] tribes in [[India]] and [[Myanmar]], "Rhododendrons" called "Ngeisok" is used in a poetic manner to signify a lady.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}[[File:Leon Wyczółkowski - Różowe azalie.jpg|thumb|[[Leon Wyczółkowski]], ''Pink Rhododendrons'', 1903]]
===In media===
The nineteenth-century American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1834 wrote a poem titled "The Rhodora, On Being Asked, Whence Is the Flower".

Rhododendrons play a role and are soliloquized in [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''. The flowers are referenced throughout [[Daphne Du Maurier]]'s novel ''[[Rebecca (novel)|Rebecca]]'' (1938){{citation needed|date=May 2016}} and in [[Sharon Creech]]'s [[young adult]] novel ''[[Walk Two Moons]]'' (1994). British author [[Jasper Fforde]] also uses rhododendron as a motif throughout many of his books, e.g. the ''[[Thursday Next]]'' series<ref>{{Cite book | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OaHIeqT1G9kC&q=jasper+fforde+%22rhododendron%22+thursday+next&pg=PT306 | title = Something rotten | isbn = 978-0-14-303541-1 | last1 = Fforde | first1 = Jasper | date = 26 July 2005| publisher = Penguin }}</ref> and ''[[Shades of Grey]]'' (2009).<ref>{{cite web|author=Jasper Fforde |url=http://www.jasperfforde.com/grey/interview.html |title=Shades of Grey – An Interview with Jasper Fforde about Shades of Grey |publisher=Jasperfforde.com |access-date=26 February 2013}}</ref>

The effects of ''R.&nbsp;ponticum'' were mentioned in the 2009 film ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' as a proposed way to arrange a [[fake execution]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Captain Skellett |date=27 December 2009 |title=Rhododendron poison – truth behind the science of Sherlock Holmes |url=http://www.aschoonerofscience.com/?p=932 |access-date=26 February 2013 |publisher=A Schooner of Science}}</ref> It was also mentioned in the third episode of Season&nbsp;2 of BBC's ''[[Sherlock (TV series)|Sherlock]]'', speculated to have been a part of Sherlock's fake death scheme.{{citation needed |date=June 2020}}