Rhodo. Sikkim Himalaya 29 (1849)
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Low, compact, much branched shrub, prostrate or attaining 60-90(-120) cm. Leaves 3.5-9(-12) x (1-5-)2-5(-6) mm, elliptic to broadly elliptic, ovate or rotund, apex obtuse, rounded or acutish, emucronulate or very shortly mucronulate, base broadly cuneate, undersurface yellowish to fawn, often with dark brown speckling, the scales contiguous to slightly discontiguous, the majority pale gold with darker scales widely but regularly spaced, rarely the dark scales as many as the paler. Inflorescence l-2(-3)-flowered, pedicels 0.5-1 -5 mm, lepidote and sometimes also pubescent. Calyx obsolete or with lobes 2-4(-4-5) mm, oblong or elongate-deltoid, lepidote and sometimes pubescent at the base, bearing pale and some dark scales on their outer surface, margin lepidote and often with some cilia. Corolla varying from rich purple through magenta and lilac to pink, broadly funnel-shaped, pubescent in the throat and often also on the outside, elepidote or occasionally lepidote, (7-)9-13(-16) mm, tube (2-5-)3-4(-6) mm. Stamens usually 10, filaments pubescent towards the base, longer or shorter than corolla. Ovary lepidote, style variable, 3-5-18 mm, usually longer than stamens, rarely shorter, glabrous or slightly pubescent at the base. Capsule rotund to ovoid, 3-5 mm, lepidote. ** * Rhododendron nivale * var. * australe * ** Calyx lobes 2-4(-4-5) mm. Calyx lobes ciliate; leaf apex ± acute. ** * Rhododendron nivale * var. * boreale * ** Calyx ±obsolete ** * Rhododendron nivale * var. * nivale * ** Calyx lobes 2-4(-4-5) mm. Calyx lobes lepidote-margined; leaf apex rounded.
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):105