The New Plantsman 1998. 5(1): 25.
WFO ID: wfo-0000405524
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1001817-1
Verified by:
Shrub to c.1m. Twigs at first laxly covered with brown scales but these quickly falling to leave the surface minutely warty and often longitudinally grooved, without simple hairs. Leaves crowded into tight pseudowhorls of 3–7 full-sized leaves and several much smaller ones. Blade 25–50 x 15–30mm, elliptic to obovate; apex broadly obtuse to rounded, sometimes slightly retuse; margin recurved, strongly so when dry, often cartilaginous although this is obscured by the curved edges; base tapering, slightly decurrent; dark shining green above, much paler green beneath; laxly to sub-densely scaly on both sides when young, glabrescent above, persistently scaly beneath. Scales round to irregularly shallowly lobed, small, flat, dark brown. Mid-vein impressed above, raised below; lateral veins 3–5 per side, distinctly impressed above, smooth below, becoming slightly raised after drying. Petiole 5–12 x 2–2.5mm, grooved above, scaly. Flower buds to 18 x 10mm, green and shiny, sometimes flushed with red, with pale brown reflexed tips to the bracts. Outermost bracts subulate from a broad triangular to ovate base, becoming larger inwards and concave-ovate with acutely pointed and channelled tips, finally broadly spathulate; membranous, glabrous outside except for a few scales near the tips and a fringe of scales along the margins; minutely hairy inside. Bracteoles to 22 x 2mm, filiform, broadening slightly upwards and often with a forked tip, glabrous or occasionally with a few hairs. Inflorescence an open umbel of 2–6 flowers, held horizontally to semi-erect. Pedicels 16–21 x c.2mm, green, moderately to densely scaly with pale brown scales, without simple hairs. Calyx 4mm in diameter, irregularly lobed, up to 1.5mm. Corolla 22–28 x 45–57mm, white, without scent; tube 11–13 x 6–7 x 10–13mm, funnel-shaped, minutely brown scaly outside and with a few white hairs near the base especially in the shallow grooves, with irregular white hairs inside; lobes 24–28 x 22–25mm, minutely and obscurely brown scaly proximally to about halfway up the lobe outside, lobes overlapping 1⁄3–2⁄3, widely spreading to almost 90°. Stamens arranged in a regular cluster in the mouth of the flower, weakly dimorphic with only the anthers exceeding the corolla tube, expanding slightly back against the corolla as the flower ages; filaments 12–13mm, white, patent hairy in the proximal 1⁄3–½; anthers c.2.5 x 1mm, brown. Disc green, 10-lobed, with erect hairs on the upper side and on the outer rim of the lobes. Ovary c.4 x 3mm, green, densely silvery scaly and moderately white hairy; style green at the base, white above, patently white-hairy for up to 1.5mm proximally, otherwise completely glabrous; stigma c.2mm in diameter, pale yellow, slightly lobed. Fruit 8–12 x 5–7mm, shortly cylindrical, deep purplish red, densely hairy and covered in dark brown scales, the valves gaping to c.45°, not twisting. Seeds 1.5–2.2mm; without tails 0.5–0.8mm, the longest tail 0.6–0.7mm.
Philippines, Romblon Province, Sibuyan Island, Mt Guiting Guiting, Camp 3 above Magdiwang, on ridge leading to Mayos Peak.
Growing amongst ultramafic boulders in open sub-montane forest
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:208