Folia Malaysiana 2003. 4(2): 109, pl.2.
WFO ID: wfo-0000400098
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:70029625-1
Verified by:
Shrub or small tree to 3m. Twigs 3–4mm in diameter, bright red passing to green, finely but fairly densely scaly; internodes 3–12cm. Leaves 3–5 together in loose pseudowhorls. Blade 60–120 x 20–45mm, narrowly obovate to narrowly elliptic; apex broadly acute and sometimes tipped with a very small, pale gland; margin entire, slightly irregular, flat or minutely revolute and with a very narrow cartilaginous edge; base rounded from a tapering lower ½; minutely brown scaly above and below, quickly glabrescent above. Scales small, sub-circular to irregularly lobed, marginal zone pale brown or silvery; with a small slightly impressed centre. Mid-vein raised above proximally, tapering rapidly from the petiole, faintly grooved when fresh and deep pink for c.10mm, becoming impressed in the distal ½; below prominently raised for almost the whole length and tapering gradually; lateral veins 8–12 per side, slender, spreading at c.45°, hardly visible below. Petiole 2–7 x 3–6mm, not grooved, deep pink, finely scaly. Flower buds to c.4 x 2cm, narrowly ovate, green or reddish-brown, especially the basal bracts, acutely pointed with the bract tips narrow and erect or slightly spreading. Bracts ovate, concave, acuminate, the apical portion inrolled to a subulate point, the margins fringed with scales, otherwise glabrous. Bracteoles to 23mm, linear, glabrous, silvery. Inflorescence of 14–18 flowers in a complete umbel or slightly flat-topped. Pedicels c.35 x 1.75mm, bright red, sparsely silvery scaly and minutely patently white-hairy. Flowers mostly disposed horizontally, some half-hanging to semi-erect, pink, fading to almost white with age, sweetly scented. Calyx a low almost circular disc with a red margin, scaly. Corolla 40–50 x 40–50mm, pale pink; tube 36–42 x 7–10 x 6–7mm, straight, narrowest at about 2/3 of the distance from the base, completely glabrous outside, densely hairy proximally inside, becoming glabrous distally; lobes 17–23 x 16–20mm, spreading horizontally, flat and overlapping to c.halfway. Stamens arranged regularly all round the mouth of the flower, distinctly dimorphic (about 3mm difference between the longer and shorter); filaments white, shortly patently hairy in the proximal 1⁄3, glabrous distally; anthers c.3mm, pale brown, each cell with a small apiculus at the base. Disc prominent, green, deeply lobed, shortly hairy on the upper surface only. Ovary c.10 x 3mm, green, sparsely silvery scaly and shortly, white, patently hairy, tapering gradually distally; style white, with just a few scales at the very base, shortly patently hairy in the proximal 1⁄3 and glabrous distally; stigma c.3mm in diameter, pink, disc-like with 5 lobes. Fruit c.36 x 5mm, green or flushed red, tapering gradually to the style. Seeds c.5.5mm, without tails 1.3mm, the longest tail c.2.6mm.
Malaysia (Borneo), Sabah, Mt Alab. Sarawak, Mt Mulu, E ridge.
Terrestrial or epiphytic in upper montane forest
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:165