Originally, botanists divided the genus Rhododendron into rhododendron species and azaleas. However, in 1870 the Russian scientist Carl Maximowicz discovered that, in the strictest botanical sense, the two groups actually belong together. Since then, scientists have used only the name Rhododendron for this genus. (Some garden centres and nurseries including ours, still use the old terms and often make a distinction between rhododendrons and azaleas in their catalogues).