Fedde Rep. 1932. 30: 162.
WFO ID: wfo-0000400289
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:332872-1
Verified by:
Shrub to 5m. Twigs rounded, laxly covered with rounded or lobed, slightly elevated scales, becoming glabrescent, leaving the surface smooth; internodes 1.5–7cm. Leaves in loose pseudowhorls, 5–11 together at the 2 or 3 upper nodes. Blade 18–40 x 8–19mm, obovate; apex rounded and mostly shortly retuse; margin entire, distinctly but narrowly revolute; base narrowly tapering, laxly to sub-densely scaly on both sides initially; above the scales in depressions, the centres sub-persistent, often bleaching to white; below, slightly impressed, brown, more persistent. Scales very variable in size, sessile, circular, sub-entire, marginal flange narrow, centre thick. Mid-vein impressed above, strongly raised beneath especially in the proximal 2⁄3; lateral veins 2–5 per side, or obscure. Petiole 2–4 x 0.75–1mm, grooved above, brown-scaly. Flower buds to 7 x 3mm, green, narrowly ovate, apiculate, smooth. Outer bracts subulate, densely scaly, inner ones ovate, acuminate, apiculate, appressed white-hairy and brown scaly outside, mostly distally. Bracteoles c.3.3 x 0.5mm, filiform, slightly broadened upwards. Flowers solitary (rarely in pairs), half-hanging to vertically hanging. Pedicels 8–12 x 0.75mm, laxly hairy and scaly, or scaly only. Calyx oblique, small, obtusely 5-lobed, scaly outside, margin white ciliate. Corolla 25–30 x 12–15mm, orange or yellow; tube 20–25 x 4–6 x 6–8mm, cylindrical, straight or very slightly curved, laxly scaly outside, glabrous inside; lobes 6–7 x 4–5mm, ovate, half-spreading, only slightly overlapping at the base, minutely crenulate and/or ciliate around the margins. Stamens clustered on the lower side of the flower, exserted to c.4mm; filaments 25–29mm, linear, flat, nearly 1mm wide at the base, filiform upwards, glabrous; anthers c.1mm, sub-orbicular, dark brown. Disc glabrous. Ovary 3–4 x c.1.8mm, oblong-conical, densely scaly, gradually tapering distally; style 16–24mm, lying on the lower side of the flower, glabrous or with a few scales at the base; stigma club-shaped, green, c.1mm in diameter. Fruit 11–16 x 4–5mm, fusiform, longitudinally grooved, scaly, the valves curving back, the placentae only weakly breaking away from the base.
Indonesia, Maluku, Buru, summit of Mt Togha, C Seram, Mt Murkele, Mt Binaia; Sulawesi, (C) Mt Roroka Timbu, (NW) Mt Sojol.
Locally common to abundant, mostly epiphytic, often in limestone areas.
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:51