Kew Journ. 5:355 (1853)
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Shrub or small tree, 2-10 m, sometimes epiphytic. Leaves large, 170-260 x 75-130 mm, oblong-elliptic or oblong-obovate, tapered to the base and the bluntly acute or obtuse apex, upper surface rugose, elepidote, lower surface with a dense covering of very unequal scales, the smaller almost rimless or narrowly rimmed, the larger about 2 x the diameter of the smaller, broadly rimmed, the rim ascending to cup-shaped, irregular; secondary and tertiary veins forming a conspicuous reticulum all over the lower surface. Inflorescence 2-5-flowered, pedicels 20—33 mm, lepidote. Calyx conspicuous, deeply 5-lobed, the lobes narrowly oblong, obtuse, sparsely lepidote or elepidote, sometimes with a few filiform-acicular hairs. Corolla funnel-campanulate, white with a yellow blotch, mouth very oblique, (75-)100-125 mm from base to apex of the longest lobe, tube (45-)70~80 mm, sparsely lepidote outside. Stamens 10, filaments pubescent towards the base. Ovary densely lepidote, tapered into the style which is lepidote in the lower part. Capsule densely lepidote, cylindric or ovoid cylindric, 50-70 X 18-20 mm, weakly 5-ridged, much exceeding the persistent calyx.
India (Arunachal Pradesh), China (NW Yunnan, SE Xizang)
Cliffs, ledges, rocky slopes in open forest
R. sinonuttallii Balfour f. & Forrest, Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 13:60 (1920). Type: China, SE Tibet, Salween/Kiu-chiang Divide, ix-x 1919, Forrest 18939 (holo. E)
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):36