Rhododendrons Sikkim Himalaya t.5 (1849).
Verified by:
Shrub, l-4.5m; young shoots with a whitish floccose tomentum. Leaves coriaceous, elliptic to ovate, 7-11(-14) x 3.5-5.5(-6.5)cm, 2-2.5 x as long as broad, apex rounded, apiculate, base rounded to ± cordate, glabrous above, with a sparse dark brown indumentum beneath composed of fasciculate hairs; petioles 1—2cm, with a floccose tomentum. Inflorescence lax, 5—8-flowered; rhachis c.lOmm; pedicels 10-15mm, ± glabrous or with a sparse covering of fasciculate hairs. Calyx irregular, sparsely tomentose to glabrous, lobes 1 -3mm. Corolla funnel-campanulate, whitish to pale mauve or lilac, with or without flecks, 25-40(-50)mm. Ovary ± glabrous. Capsule 15-30 X 5-7mm.
e Nepal, Bhutan, N India (Sikkim, Bengal), China (S Xizang)
Mixed forests, Rhododendron scrub, etc.
Chamberlain, D.F. (1982) A Revision of Rhododendron II. Subgenus Hymenanthes. Notes From the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 39(2):373