Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 34:45 (1975)
Verified by:
Erect, rounded, much branched shrub to 60 cm. Leaves (7-)9-17 x (4_)5_10 mm, broadly ovate or oblong-elliptic, apex obtuse or rounded, mucro obscure, base broadly cuneate, truncate or subcordate, undersurface tawny with some darker speckling, densely covered with contiguous golden scales, some with darker centres. Inflorescence 2-3-flowered, pedicels lepidote, 1-2 mm. Calyx lobes 4-7-5 x 3-4-5 mm, broadly rounded or ovate, margins ciliate and sometimes with a few scales, and with a band of scales up the centre. Corolla pale to deep purplish blue, funnel-shaped, 14-18 mm, tube 4-6 mm, pubescent inside and often also outside, rarely sparsely lepidote outside. Stamens 10, rarely fewer, slightly shorter than the corolla. Ovary lepidote, style 14-16 mm, exceeding the stamens, pubescent or glabrous towards the base. Capsule ovoid, c. 5 mm, lepidote.
China (NW Sichuan)
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):103