The rhododendron is blooming on the Transcarpathian Hoverla

The red ruta is the name of a mountain flower growing in the highlands of the Ukrainian Carpathians. According to the ancient Hutsul legends, the red ruta is rhododendron. It is a low-growing evergreen bush, which in June blooms in bright red in high mountain valleys. The name rhododendron comes from two Greek words – rhodos – rose and dendron – tree (rose tree), the press service of the Transcarpathian Regional Forest and Hunting Range Administration reported. "Here we see the East-Carpathian rhododendron – the red ruta, very rare. There are not only pink flowers, but also white ones that look like albinos. For highlanders, it is a special plant, it is loved and honored, sung about in folk lore. The old Ukrainian legend tells about a flower, which blooms in red only once in ten years. And if a girl finds a flower and gives it to a young man, he will always love her and never cheat on her", – the director of the enterprise "Rakhiv Forestry" Volodymyr Prystupa said. The Carpathian rhododendron grows only on the highest mountain ranges and it is a big luck to see the peak of its bloom. You can see the flowering of the rhododendron, on the mountain slopes of the Chornohora, Marmarosh and Svydovets ridges, which are under the protection of the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. The love flower is now blooming at the foot of the Hoverla. So hurry up to see the bright red carpets of this amazing alpine plant.