Rhododendrons Sikkim Himalaya 16, 1.15 (1851).
Verified by:
Shrub or small tree, 3-1 lm. Leaves obovate to oblanceolate or elliptic, 17-24 x 6.4—10cm, 2.4-3.2 x as long as broad, apex rounded to retuse, base ± rounded, upper surface glabrescent, not strongly reticulated, lower surface with a dense silvery to cinnamon indumentum of two layers, the lower compacted, the upper composed of slightly fimbriate, broadly cup-shaped hairs; petioles 2.5-5cm, terete, with a thin, ± floccose greyish indumentum. Inflorescence dense, 15-25-flowered; rhachis 25-50mm; pedicels 20-40mm, with a sparse greyish floccose indumentum. Calyx 2-3mm, sparsely tomentose. Corolla fleshy, 7-8(-10)-lobed, tubular-campanulate, pink to magenta or purple, with a darker basal blotch, 30-40(-50)mm. Stamens 15-18. Ovary tomentose. Capsule 30-40 x c.6mm, curved.
E Nepal, n India (Sikkim, Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh), Bhutan, China (S Xizang)
Open hillsides, Abies forests, etc.
Chamberlain, D.F. (1982) A Revision of Rhododendron II. Subgenus Hymenanthes. Notes From the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(2):259