Description

Shrub to 3m. Twigs 2–4mm in diameter, rounded, moderately to laxly scaly, becoming glabrescent; internodes 1–20cm. Leaves 2–6 together in tight pseudowhorls. Blade 25–110 x 10–70mm, elliptic to broadly elliptic or obovate; apex shortly acuminate to obtuse; margin entire, narrowly revolute or flat; base broadly tapering to tapering; quickly glabrescent above, more persistently sub-densely scaly below. Scales small, flat, marginal zone irregularly lobed or almost entire; centre flat or slightly raised. Mid-vein narrowly impressed above; broadly prominent proximally beneath, gradually tapering distally but remaining prominent to the apex, often coloured red; lateral veins 4–7 per side, wide-spreading, slender, minutely impressed above and minutely raised beneath or obscure, reticulation obscure. Petiole 5–20 x 1.5–2mm, grooved above, scaly, usually red. Inflorescence 2–7-flowered in an open umbel, the flowers half-hanging to hanging. Pedicels 18–35 x c.1.5mm, laxly scaly often becoming sub-densely scaly distally and often hairy. Calyx an angular disc c.4mm in diameter, sometimes shortly 5-lobed. Corolla 50–58 x 50–58mm, red or deep pink, without scent; tube 30–35 x 9–11 x 16–20mm, funnel-shaped, straight, laxly scaly and sparsely hairy outside, hairy inside; lobes 20–27 x 20–27mm, semi-erect to spreading, obovate to sub-circular, usually emarginate, overlapping ½–2⁄3, scaly on the lower part outside. Stamens irregularly spreading all round the mouth, or round the lower 2⁄3 of the mouth, not or only slightly exserted, slightly dimorphic; filaments 23–30 and 21–28mm, hairy; anthers c.3mm, oblong, dark red. Disc 10-lobed, hairy. Ovary 3–6 x 2–2.5mm, sub-cylindrical, densely scaly and densely hairy, tapering distally; style 14–23mm, central, or appressed to the lower side of the tube, scaly and hairy in the proximal ½–¾, then scaly for 1–2mm and finally glabrous distally; stigma c.1.5mm in diameter, rounded. Fruit 15–30 x c.5mm, ellipsoid.

Distribution

Australia, Queensland: Mt Finnigan; Thornton Peak; Mount Windsor Tableland; and the Main Coast Range.

Altitude

Habitat

Terrestrial or epiphytic in rain forest, on open boulder outcrops and mossy shrubberies, reported as epiphytic with a Vaccinium in the tops of large Eugenia trees on Mt Spurgeon by C.A. White, but it is normally found above the tree line (this however may reflect the difficulty of seeing epiphytes in the tops of trees) said to be common above 1050m.

Nomenclatural History

Notes

References

Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:324