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Rhododendron is an evergreen shrub belonging to Ericaceae.

It is distributed in the northern highlands of the DPRK and is 20 to 50㎝ high.

Its stock spreads many branches horizontally. Its knots have ramenta which grow every year. The leaves grow in alternation and are closely packed at the tip of a sprig and therefore they seem to be verticillate.

The lamina is oval or obovate and glossy and the edge rolls backward. Beautiful light yellow corymbose flowers (about 3cm in diameter) bloom in groups at the ends of the sprigs in around June and July.

The calyx of the flower is very small and the corolla is bell-shaped. The plant has ten stamens and one pistil. It bears oval seedballs with brown hairs.

The plant can be multiplied by seed or by separating the roots. The leaf contains andromedotoxin, flavonoid and ursolic acid.

Rhododendron is generally planted and tended for ornamental effect and its leaf is used as raw material for antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory drugs in the field of Koryo medicine. People eat the decoction of its leaves for the treatment of arthritis, joint edema and neuralgia.

Rhododendron on Mt Paektu, which is specially protected and managed as a living monument, grows in groups in the vast area in and around the mountain.

It adds to the scenic beauty of the mountain and is of academic significance in studying the characteristics of the groups of the plant.