Greek enkyos—swollen, anthos—flower.
Mostly deciduous shrubs. Branches often in whorls. Leaves alternate, simple, crowded at the branch tips, colouring in autumn, margin sometimes toothed. Calyx lobes 5. Flowers hanging in terminal clusters. Stamens 10 with awned anthers. Ovary superior. Fruit 5-chambered.
Several species are occasionally offered in nurseries. E. chinensis Franch. from W China is occasionally grown; it has salmon flowers and hairy filaments and ovary. E. quinqueflorus Lour., also from China, has large pink flowers to 15 mm long with the lobes bent back (E. serrulatus (Willd.) C.K. Schneid. differs in having finely toothed, not entire, leaves). E. deflexus (Griff.) C.K. Schneid. from the Himalaya and W China is distinguished by its hairy leaves. These species are keyed out in the key but not described in detail.
Seeds, cuttings or layers.
Bracts large; capsule with few (often 1) seed in each chamber.
10 species from Japan and China to Himalaya.
Source: (1997). Ericaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.
