Description

Shrub to 1.5m. Twigs rounded, distinctly brown-scaly and minutely hairy, becoming glabrescent; internodes 2–10cm. Leaves 10–14 in loose pseudowhorls. Blade 40–80 x 13–40mm, narrowly to broadly elliptic, occasionally obovate; apex broadly acute, obtuse or rounded; margin entire, slightly revolute and with a narrow cartilaginous edge; base narrowly to broadly tapering, often decurrent; above with silvery small scales but quickly glabrescent; below with brown, more persistent impressed scales. Scales laxly arranged, rounded to weakly lobed, with a broad, striate marginal flange and a relatively large, slightly swollen centre. Mid-vein grooved and slightly raised or impressed in the proximal part, distally shallowly impressed above, slightly raised beneath and distinct to the apex; lateral veins 4–8 per side, spreading at 45–90°, moderately distinct and minutely impressed above, obscure to invisible beneath, reticulation inconspicuous. Petiole 3–8 x 1–3mm, distinctly grooved above, brown-scaly. Flower buds (see p.327) to 50 x 30mm, green or green strongly flushed with red, the outer bracts recurving but with the lateral margins strongly inrolled distally, appearing acute but slightly retuse if flattened out, with a few scales outside in the proximal ½, mainly in the central area. Inner bracts to 50 x 17mm, glabrous except for marginal scales near the apex, standing out vertically away from the bud to completely enclosing and ensheathing, ovate to elliptic with hooded apices. Pedicels 25–28 x 2–3mm, green to strongly flushed with red, especially in the proximal ½, scaly and shortly white-hairy. Inflorescence of 5–10, semi-erect to slightly hanging flowers in an open umbel. Flowers white with a greenish tinge on the tube or flushed very pale pink, without scent. Corolla 50–56 x 65–70mm; tube 30–33 x 6–8 x 16–20mm, glabrous outside, or with some short hairs near the base, hairy inside; lobes 30–36 x 23–29mm, at first semi-erect, later spreading horizontally, overlapping to c.¼, often with an irregular margin and retuse at the apex. Stamens mostly clustered in the lower 2⁄3 of the flower, sometimes arranged all round the mouth, exserted to c.6mm; filaments c.35mm, white with distally pointing hairs in the basal 1⁄3; anthers c.3 x 1mm, cream, becoming pale brown with age. Disc 10-lobed, with dense, white, erect hairs on the upper side. Ovary c.10 x 3mm, covered in short, white, slightly distally pointing hairs and pale translucent scales; style up to 25mm, glabrous except for the proximal 1–2mm which is densely hairy; stigma 3–5mm in diameter, white, 5-lobed, at first on the lower side of the mouth, rising to central position as it becomes receptive. Fruit 35–40 x 6–8mm, fusiform, often slightly curved and shallowly longitudinally grooved, green to purplish-red.

Rhododendron madulidii Argent

Description

Distribution

Altitude

Habitat

Nomenclatural History

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References