Rhododendron section Tsutsusi (spelled
Tsutsuji in some older texts) was a
subgenus of the
genus Rhododendron, commonly referred to as the evergreen
azaleas. In 2005 it was reduced to a section of subgenus
Azaleastrum. Containing 80 - 117 species, it includes both
deciduous and
evergreen types and is distributed in
Japan,
China and
northeastern Asia. They are of high cultural importance to the Japanese. Among the species in this genus lie the largest flowering azaleas.