Description

Shrub or small tree with slender branches to 3m. Twigs rounded, 1.5–3mm in diameter, laxly silvery scaly, becoming glabrescent, often pink when fresh, whitish in dry specimens, with distinctive slender, acutely pointed lateral buds with subulate tips to the scales; internodes 3.5–12cm. Leaves 4–7 together in tight pseudowhorls at the upper 1–2 nodes, 1–2 additional sometimes on the internodes. Blade 55–90 x 18–28mm, narrowly elliptic; apex shortly acuminate, acute; margin entire, flat or only very slightly revolute; base acutely tapering, densely scaly on both sides when young, glabrescent and minutely blackish punctate above with age, more persistently and laxly scaly beneath. Scales small, with a relatively wide marginal zone which quickly disintegrates, sub-stellately lobed; centre minute and slightly impressed, blackish with age. Mid-vein narrow and impressed above, strongly and obtusely prominent beneath, often pale whitish; lateral veins 6–10 per side, irregular, spreading, obscurely arching inwards, with additional shorter intermediate veins all minutely impressed, inconspicuous above, more distinct beneath. Petiole 10–20 x 1.5–1.8mm, compressed and weakly grooved above, scaly. Flower buds to 20 x 11mm, ovoid, or narrowly ovoid, smooth, bright red. Outer bracts to 20 x 10mm, ovate to ovate-oblong, inner ones spathulate, very densely hairy outside, glabrous except for the sparsely hairy base inside. Bracteoles 15–20 x c.0.6mm, linear, densely hairy. Inflorescence 4–10-flowered, an open umbel, the flowers half-hanging. Pedicels 10–24 x c.1.25mm, pink, slender, laxly scaly, without hairs. Calyx 3–4mm in diameter, obliquely disc-shaped, shallowly 5-lobed, densely scaly outside. Corolla 30–40 x c.30mm, tubular, bright glossy red; tube 25–27 x 6–8 x 6–8mm, cylindrical, straight, very prominently and deeply sulcate in the proximal ½, laxly or very laxly scaly especially towards the base outside, sub-densely very shortly hairy inside; lobes 10–14 x 9–11mm, broadly obovate or sub-circular, 1⁄3–½ overlapping, half-spreading. Stamens irregularly arranged, exserted to c.10mm; filaments linear, pink, densely sub-patently hairy in the proximal 2⁄3, glabrous distally; anthers 2–3 x c.1mm, obovate-oblong. Disc prominent, glabrous. Ovary 4–6 x 2–3mm, sub-ovoid-cylindrical, densely sub-patently hairy and scaly, tapering distally; style slender, pale pink, nearly as long as the stamens and depressed to the lower side of the tube, hairy in the proximal ½, sparsely, or not scaly; stigma globose. Fruit 20–30 x 5–6mm, cylindrical, slightly curved, sub-densely hairy and scaly. Seeds 3.8mm, without tails 0.8–1mm, the longest tail 1.8mm, the tails highly crimped.

Rhododendron leptobrachion Sleumer

Description

Distribution

Altitude

Habitat

Nomenclatural History

Notes

References