In spring, the shade of pink that creeps across the slopes of Japan’s most southerly island, Kyushu, is simply shocking. Kyushu azaleas are just one of 300 varieties native to Japan, and they spread like wildfire.
It is a joy to see this shrub, so familiar as a tamed garden plant, completely untamed. Locals believe that the sight of them restores the human spirit, and they are surely right.
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, particularly the former sections Tsutsuji (evergreen) and Pentanthera (deciduous).
Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and October and November in the Southern Hemisphere), their flowers often lasting several weeks. Shade tolerant, they prefer living near or under trees. They are part of the family Ericaceae. Wikipedia