United States / Grow / Formosa Azalea

Formosa Azalea (Rhododendron simsii)
Photo: (c) Greg III Espera, some rights reserved (CC BY) (CC BY), via iNaturalist. Species-typical, not necessarily this cultivar.

Formosa Azalea

Rhododendron simsii · Ericaceae · all Rhododendron records · also called Sims's azalea · Wikipedia

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Sims's azalea begins with tree-leaf fire-resistance ordering, the selected laboratory lineage for Rhododendron simsii. The test state is cured on performance conditions, and the pack remains limited evidence on the evidence table.

The accepted rows compute to avoid and keep 1 ecological invasive report as separate context. Same-form alternatives are cited under related plants, where comparison does not add source rows to this azalea. The resulting boundary is species-specific: the leaf-ranking study supplies the laboratory anchor, cured identifies its condition, and neither the ecological report nor the alternatives expands the limited fire pack for R. simsii.

Fire-resistant shrubs instead

Form
shrub
Region
Brazil; China
Rated in
Global; Northeast China
On this lot

1. Fire evidence and conditions

Fire evidence
Highly flammable — location does not change the cited classification.
Fire-performance conditions
1 condition stated in cited fire-evidence rows.
Evidence regions
Global; Northeast China

2. Why this plant is relevant here

Introduced / established
1 sourced range or established record. This is not an invasive warning.

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.

Conditions in the fire evidence

These describe tested or rated plant material. They are not horticultural maintenance instructions.

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.

Avoids (1)

Listed without a rating (14)
Corroboration (14 rows from 1 source)
  • FLAMITS: FLAMmability plant traiTS database — Dryad / Global Ecology and Biogeography · Dryad version 9 · original source Corroboration Trait database lineage: meta-aggregator

    14 cited rows from this source; its identity, lineage and tier are stated once.

    • Primary study Batista2020: Batista, A.C., Biondi, D., & Martini, A. (2020). Flammability of ornamental species for fire management in wildland-urban interface in Paraná state. Floresta, 51, 192-200.

      Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Batista2020-1; sampling ND.

      • Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.

        • “time to flaming (s): 18.8”

          FLAMITS record 489.

        • “ignition frequency (%): 49”

          FLAMITS record 517.

        • “flammability value: 2”

          FLAMITS record 518.

      • “flaming duration (s): 26.94”

        FLAMITS record 490; Sustainability measurement.

      • “flame height (cm): 8.6”

        FLAMITS record 491; Combustibility measurement.

    • Primary study Santos2018a: Santos, J. F. L., Batista, A. C., Tres, A., Tetto, A. F., & Kovalsyki, B. (2018a). Flammability and combustibility of potential species for use as fuel breaks. In: D. X. Viegas, Advances in Forest Fire Research 2018 (pp. 788-793), Portugal, University of Coimbra.

      Shared row context: plant part twigs; fuel live; predrying no; device epiradiator; site Santos2018a-1; sampling ND.

      • Shared measurement context: Ignitability measurement.

        • “time to flaming (s): 18.8”

          FLAMITS record 11928.

        • “flammability value: 2”

          FLAMITS record 11946.

      • Shared measurement context: Combustibility measurement.

        • “flame height (cm): 4.85”

          FLAMITS record 11937.

        • “flame height (cm): 24.4”

          FLAMITS record 11964.

        • “calorific value (kcal/kg): 4454.5”

          FLAMITS record 11982.

      • Shared measurement context: Sustainability measurement.

        • “burning duration (s): 26.9”

          FLAMITS record 11955.

        • “rate of burning spread (cm/s): 15.6”

          FLAMITS record 11973.

    • Primary study Shan2008: Shan, Y., Liu, N., & Shu, L. (2008). Flammability ranking of foliage species by factor analysis of physical and chemical pyric properties. Fire and Materials: An International Journal, 32, 371-382.

      Shared row context: plant part leaves; fuel live; predrying no; site Shan2008-1; sampling ND.

      • “temperature at flaming (°C): 269”

        FLAMITS record 12620; Ignitability measurement; device ignition temperature tester.

      • “calorific value (kcal/kg): 5081.02”

        FLAMITS record 12621; Combustibility measurement; device calorimeter.

Fire-resistant shrubs instead

Fire-resistant shrubs listed above

Last verified 2026-08-24. JSON (CC BY 4.0)

Profiles: GBIF · iNaturalist · Wikidata · Wikipedia ·

Rhododendron simsii (Sims's azalea). FireApproved. https://fireapproved.com/plants/rhododendron-simsii/. Last verified 2026-08-24.