Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 9:239 (1916)
Verified by:
China (N Yunnan, SW Sichuan)
Forests, open slopes, alpine meadows, cliffs, etc.
R. litangense [Balfour f. ex] Hutchinson in Stevenson (ed.), The Species of Rhododendron 411 (1930). Type: none cited. R. semanteum Balfour f., loc. cit., nom. nud. Compact, much branched shrub to 0.9(—I -2) m. Leaves (4—)5—14(—15) x (2-5-)3-6(-7) mm, elliptic or ovate to broadly elliptic or oblong, apex obtuse or acute, mucronulate, base broadly cuneate, undersurface pale grey-green speckled brown or more uniformly rusty, the scales markedly to slightly discontiguous. Inflorescence up to 4-flowered, pedicels lepidote and rarely pubescent, 0.8-3 mm. Calyx usually 2-5-4 mm, occasionally shorter, lobes strap-shaped with a rounded or deltoid apex, usually with a few scales forming a central band, margin ciliate. Corolla violet or purple to rose-lavender, rarely white, broadly funnel-shaped, (7—)8—15 mm, tube (2-)3-6 mm, pubescent inside, rarely also outside, elepidote or with a few scales on the outside of the lobes. Stamens usually 10, often rather variable in number, filaments pubescent towards the base. Ovary lepidote, style very variable in length, from shorter than to longer than the stamens, glabrous or pubescent towards the base. Capsule ovoid, 4-6 mm, lepidote.
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):102