Reinwardtia 1960. 5: 111.
WFO ID: wfo-0000403261
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:332139-1
Verified by:
Shrub to 1m. Twigs spreading, tips reddish-brown-scaly; internodes 1.5–8cm. Leaves 4 together in pseudowhorls. Blade 40–90 x 10–17mm, narrowly elliptic; apex shortly, to long acuminate; margin slightly revolute when dry; base tapering, glabrescent above with age, the remaining scales flat and not impressed, densely and persistently scaly beneath. Scales flat, with many touching or slightly crenate overlapping, forming a continuous layer, the marginal zone wide in relation to the small darker centre, deeply and irregularly to moderately lobed; centres impressed. Mid-vein impressed above, thick and prominent beneath; lateral veins 6–8 per side, straight and spreading, sometimes minutely depressed above, obscure beneath. Petiole 6–15 x c.1.5mm, semi-rounded, scaly. Outer bracts to 8 x 5mm, ovate to sub-spherical, abruptly subulate-tapering at the apex, densely scaly outside; inner ones ovate to sub-spathulate, obtuse. Bracteoles to 6mm, filiform, laxly scaly. Inflorescence c.5-flowered, an open umbel, the flowers half-hanging. Pedicels 10–15mm, slender, densely scaly. Calyx c.2.5mm in diameter, sub-oblique, almost cup-shaped, the margin spreading or reflexed, irregularly, shortly and obtusely 5-lobed. Corolla 10–12mm, broadly campanulate, yellow; tube c.8 x 2–3 x c.10mm, sub-densely scaly outside; lobes 5–6 x 4–5mm, broadly obovate, shortly retuse or irregularly crenate distally, scaly outside except near the margins. Stamens nearly as long as the corolla; filaments linear, long patently hairy in the proximal 1⁄3, glabrous distally; anthers 1.7mm. Disc prominent, very shortly hairy at the upper margin, glabrous below. Ovary c.2.5 x 1.7mm, ovoid-conical, densely patently hairy and scaly, abruptly contracted distally; style 4–5mm, scaly at the extreme base, glabrous distally; stigma large, 5-lobed.
Indonesia, S Sumatra, near Bengkulu (Benkulen): Mt Kaba (Mt Belirang). Mt Belirang does not appear on modern maps. Belerang is the Indonesian for sulphur, and the local people harvest sulphur on Mt Kaba and often call it Mt Belerang. It seems most likely that Belirang and Kaba are one and the same place.
Reported growing on a dry sulphur-stone slope
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:130