Azalea \A*za"le*a\ (?; 97), n.; pl. Azaleas. [NL., fr. Gr. ? dry, -- so called because supposed to grow best in dry ground.]

(Bot.) A genus of showy flowering shrubs, mostly natives of China or of North America; false honeysuckle. The genus is scarcely distinct from Rhododendron.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)