Short answers, pulled from the story.
An azalea is a flowering shrub in the genus Rhododendron, particularly the former subgenera Tsutsusi, which are evergreen, and Pentanthera, which are deciduous. Azaleas belong to the family Ericaceae and bloom in spring, with flowers that often last several weeks.
Azaleas contain andromedotoxins in both their leaves and nectar, including honey made from that nectar. In pets, eating the plant can cause central nervous system depression leading to multi-organ failure, with symptoms such as vomiting, seizures and heart rhythm disturbances that can end in cardiac arrest and death.
Mad honey is a mind-altering, potentially medicinal, and occasionally lethal honey produced in some parts of Turkey where bees are deliberately fed on azalea and rhododendron nectar. The honey carries the andromedotoxins found in azalea nectar.
According to azalea historian Fred Galle, the Southern indica group of Azalea indica first reached the outdoor American landscape in the 1830s at Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, a rice plantation in Charleston, South Carolina. Owner John Grimke Drayton imported the plants from Philadelphia, and Magnolia Plantation and Gardens later opened to the public in 1871.
Azaleas are slow-growing and do best in well-drained acidic soil with a pH between 4.5 and 6.0. They have low fertilizer needs, are shade tolerant, prefer living near or under trees, and some species require regular pruning.
In Chinese culture the azalea is known as the "thinking of home bush," or sixiang shu, and is immortalized in the poetry of Du Fu. It is also one of the symbols of the city of São Paulo, Brazil.
Azalea festivals are held across Asia and the United States, including the Nezu Shrine Tsutsuji Matsuri in Tokyo, a royal azalea festival at Sobaeksan in Korea, the Ma On Shan Azalea Festival in Hong Kong since 2004, and US events such as the North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington and the Houston Azalea Trail, which has run every spring since 1935.