Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 9:279 (1916)
Verified by:
A low matted or rounded, densely branched shrub, prostrate or up to 90 cm. Leaves 4-12(—17) x (2-)3-8(-9.5) mm, broadly elliptic to rotund, apex obtuse or rounded, emucronate or with slight mucro, base broadly cuneate, undersurface uniformly rufous, densely covered with contiguous scales. Inflorescence l-3(-4)-flowered, pedicels lepidote, sometimes puberulous, 1-5-3 mm. Calyx obsolete or up to 2 mm with rounded or deltoid lobes, variably lepidote or ciliate. Corolla usually purplish or purplish blue, sometimes violet or rose, exceptionally yellow, broadly funnel-shaped, pubescent inside and sometimes on the outside as well, 9-16 mm, tube 3-5 mm. Stamens 10 or rarely 5-6, filaments pubescent towards the base. Ovary lepidote, style exceeding the stamens (very rarely shorter), glabrous or pubescent towards the base. Capsule ovoid, lepidote, 5-7 mm.
NE Burma, China (NW Yunnan, SE Xizang)
Open alpine slopes and bare screes
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):99