J. Coll. Sci. Univ. Tokyo 1911. 30(1): 171.
WFO ID: wfo-0001048928
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:332667-1
Verified by:
Shrub to 1.5m. Twigs green, c.2mm in diameter, laxly covered with brown scales each slightly raised on a short stalk; internodes 1–4cm. Leaves arranged in loose pseudowhorls. Blade 30–45 x 12–22mm, obovate, or elliptic; apex broadly obtuse often mucronate with a small protruding pale gland; margin entire, slightly to strongly revolute; base broadly to narrowly tapering, often a little decurrent; upper surface green, glabrescent; lower surface covered with blackish-brown scales each about 3–5 times their own diameter apart. Scales circular with narrow marginal flanges and large centres. Mid-vein narrowly impressed above throughout its length, more broadly raised below, strongly so in the proximal ½, becoming smooth distally; lateral veins 3–5 per side, spreading at 45° to almost 90°, minutely impressed above, very slightly raised below or obscure. Petiole 4–8 x c.1.5mm, grooved above, sparsely scaly. Flower buds to 16 x 8mm, pale green, ellipsoid, smooth with an acute apex. Bracts fully appressed, ovate, broadly acute but often splitting to appear emarginate, brown scaly outside especially in a broad strip along the midline, also minutely sub-papillose hairy or long appressed hairy, glabrous inside, fringed with short white hairs along the margins. Bracteoles to 10 x 1mm, narrowly spathulate, glabrous except for marginal hairs at the apex. Inflorescence of 3–7 flowers in an open umbel. Flowers semi-erect to half-hanging. Pedicels 15–25mm, sparsely scaly and minutely shortly hairy, sometimes becoming vertically striate. Calyx small, distinctly 5-lobed; lobes broadly rounded, scaly outside and fringed with scales. Corolla 8–10mm, light yellow, campanulate; tube c.5 x 4 x 3.5mm, densely scaly outside and hairy in the distal part inside; lobes c.7–9 x 4–7mm, elliptic, scaly outside, without markings. Stamens exserted to c.6mm in an irregular cluster, later spreading back against the corolla lobes, dimorphic; filaments glabrous for c.1mm proximally, then densely long hairy, the hairs gradually decreasing in length and density distally, becoming glabrous for c.2mm apically; anthers c.2 x 0.8mm, brown. Ovary scaly and shortly hairy; style very short, patently hairy at the base or completely glabrous. Fruit c.6 x 3mm, hairy, turning to become erect; valves spreading to a wide angle; placentae remaining fixed to the central column. Seeds to 2.6mm, without tails 1.1mm, the longest tail 1.1mm.
Taiwan, Ilan Co., Ta-yuen-shan, Yuan-yang Lake. Chiayi Co., Yu-shan (Mt Morrison). Co.: Kuei-hu: Taipei Co., below summit of Mt Chilanshan
Growing in sub-montane, humid forest, epiphytic on the trunks of Chamaecyparis formosensis Matsum. or terrestrial in open areas
R. kawakamii Hayata var. flaviflorum Liu & Chuang, Quart. J. Taiwan Mus. 1960. 13: 64. R. taiwanianum Ying, Quart. J. Chinese Forest. 1976. 9(4): 116.
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:36