Description

Shrub to 2 m with thin lepidote branches. Young shoots purplish, puberulous. Leaves ovate to elliptic, up to 35 x 15 mm, ± acute at the apex, rounded to subcuneate at the base, ± glabrous and elepidote above, sparsely lepidote with large, golden scales beneath. Bud scales of the leaf buds persistent. Inflorescence 4-6-flowered, pedicels sparsely lepidote, puberulous at the base. Calyx weakly 5-lobed, the lobes 1-2 mm, sparsely lepidote, the margins filiform-acicular-ciliate. Corolla openly funnel-shaped, 15-25 mm, white with many reddish spots, sparsely lepidote and puberulent towards the sinuses outside, puberulent inside the tube. Stamens 10, filaments pubescent towards the base. Ovary lepidote and sparsely puberulent towards the apex. Style shorter than the longest stamens at anthesis, glabrous or sparsely pilose at the base. Capsule lepidote, 10-15 mm.

Distribution

China (C Sichuan)

Altitude

Habitat

In woodland and on cliffs,

Nomenclatural History

Notes

References

Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):88