United States / Grow / southern Indian azalea

southern Indian azalea (Azalea obtusum)
Photo: (c) Nicollas Michels, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) (CC BY-SA), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

southern Indian azalea

Azalea obtusum (accepted: Rhododendron indicum) · Ericaceae · also called Rhododendron indicum · Wikipedia

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Form
shrub
Rated in
eastern US; southeastern US
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Mixed evidence — location does not change the cited classification.
Placement evidence
1 source placement record; source schemes remain separate.
Evidence regions
eastern US; southeastern US

2. Why this plant is relevant here

State distribution
Documented in FL, GA, SC, NC, AL, MS, LA, TX.

3. Legal, ecological, and broader status

How to read this page

The status above is computed from the cited rows below: independent recommendations can support a fire-resistant result, an avoid row can produce keep-away, and disagreement stays visible as conflict. Placement notes preserve each source’s own scheme rather than translating unlike rules into one scale. This is evidence about a plant, not permission to plant it in every part of the defensible space; Zone 0 remains noncombustible.

Where its sources say to plant it

Placement rules below use each source's own distances or named zones, tied to its rating. They are not interchangeable with the directory's current Zone 0 guidance.

The evidence

Grouped by what each source concluded. Primary evidence rated the plant itself (a lab, field program, or original curation); corroboration compiled or republished another source's rating and resolves to its root lineage.

Mid-scale / conditional (2)

Fire-resistant shrubs instead

Last verified 2026-08-23. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia ·

Azalea obtusum (Rhododendron indicum). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/azalea-obtusum/. Last verified 2026-08-23.