Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 13:302 (1922)
Verified by:
Shrub, 0.5-1-3 m; bark scaling, brownish. Leaves narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, rarely oblanceolate, rounded at the apex, cuneate at the base, (42-)50-75(-100) x (ll-)16-30(-40) mm, dark green above, brownish grey beneath, papillose and with unequal scales slightly sunk in pits in the surface, contiguous to their own diameter apart, rapidly becoming blackish or dark brown. Inflorescence 3-9-flowered, rachis usually obvious, pedicels densely lepidote, (11 —)16—18(—30) mm. Calyx lobes spreading, orbicular to oblong, rounded at the apex, 5-7(-8) mm, sparsely loriform-ciliate, lepidote at the base and frequently on the margins also. Corolla campanulate, pink to red, (17-)20-24 mm, tube 11-18 mm, variably lepidote outside, glabrous inside. Filaments pubescent towards the base. Ovary lepidote; style impressed, lepidote for approximately Vi its length from the base. Capsule ovoid-cylindric, 7-10 mm.
India (Arunachal Pradesh), NE Burma, China (NW Yunnan, SE Xizang)
Cliffs, rocky slopes, screes and alpine meadows
R. spodopeplum Balfour f. & Farrer, op. cit.: 299. Type: Burma, crags of the Shing Hong, 10000 ft, 21 vi 1920, Farrer 1645 (holo. E). R. deleiense Hutchinson & Kingdon Ward, Notes R.B.G. Edinb. 16: 172 (1931). Type: Assam, Delei valley, 8-10000 ft, Kingdon Ward 8165 (iso. E)
Cullen, J. (1980) A Revision of Rhododendron 1: Subgenus Rhododendron sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum. Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(1):128