Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 26: 274(1914)
Verified by:
Shrub or small tree, l-3.8m; bark rough; young shoots glabrous. Leaves broadly elliptic to orbicular, 6.5-12.5 x 4.2-9cm, 1.2-1.6 x as long as broad, apex and base rounded, upper surface glabrous, lower surface ± glaucous with epidermis mammillate, glabrous or with a few scattered hairs on the midrib towards the base; petioles 1 -3cm, often shghtly winged, glabrous. Inflorescence 6-11-flowered; rhachis 5-10mm; pedicels 10-20mm, glabrous. Calyx (2-)7-15mm, cupular, greenish, glabrous, lobes truncate. Corolla ± campanulate to funnel-campanulate, white or cream to clear pink, with dark nectar pouches, flecks lacking, (40—)50—60mm. Ovary glabrous or rarely with a few glands, style glabrous. Capsule 15-20 x 8-10mm, usually with a glaucous bloom.
China (W Yunnan)
Open pasture, forest margins
R. thomsonii Hooker f. var. cyanocarpum Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot) 9: 389 (1895)
Chamberlain, D.F. (1982) A Revision of Rhododendron II. Subgenus Hymenanthes. Notes From the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(2):423