Bot. Jahr. 1892. 16: 24.
WFO ID: wfo-0000405531
IPNI ID: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:333636-1
Verified by:
Shrub to 3m or tree to 10m, with a 15cm diameter trunk. Twigs rounded, 3–5mm in diameter, laxly scaly when young, glabrescent below; internodes 3–14cm. Leaves 3–6 in tight pseudowhorls. Blade 70–160 x 40–80mm, broadly elliptic to elliptic, rarely sub-ovate-elliptic or ovate-oblong; apex broadly acute to acute, often deflexed; margin flat, but the sides often curved upwards; base broadly tapering to rounded, the two sides often slightly unequal; glabrescent above at maturity; laxly brown-scaly beneath, remaining punctate when the scales disappear in old leaves. Scales small, marginal zone sub-stellately lobed; centre minute and shallowly impressed. Mid-vein narrowly grooved above in the proximal ½, as wide as the petiole and obtusely prominent for most of its length beneath; lateral veins 6–14 per side, diverging at c.45°, irregular, often running down the mid-vein, curved upwards and anastomosing before the margin, slightly raised above, smooth or distinctly prominent beneath, reticulation lax, mostly distinct, but smooth on both sides. Petiole 10–16 x c.3mm, flattened and shallowly grooved above in the distal ½, scaly initially. Flower buds to 65 x 26mm, narrowly ovoid, imbricate, smooth, acute. Bracts to 40 x 15mm; outer bracts ovate-triangular, inner ones ovate to obovate or spathulate, all appressed, obtuse and covered by minute appressed hairs, amongst which are pale brown scales; margin fringed with small fragile scales. Bracteoles to 30mm, linear-sub-spathulate, shortly hairy. Inflorescence a complete or slightly open umbel of 4–8 flowers. Pedicels 15–40 x 1–1.5mm, laxly to sub-densely stellate-scaly, and sparsely shortly hairy in the distal part, sometimes throughout. Calyx c.5mm in diameter, obliquely disc-shaped, laxly scaly and hairy outside, obtusely 5-lobed. Corolla 60 x 90mm, enlarging with age, funnel-shaped, lobed to almost halfway, usually with a yellow tube and broad orange margins to the lobes so that the flower appears with a yellow ‘star’ in the throat; tube 30–45 x 5–8 x 20–27mm, deeply grooved in the proximal ½, and with 5 distinct, translucent veins which run lengthwise to the lobes, sometimes with some hairs at the base within the furrows, otherwise sparsely and indistinctly scaly outside, laxly hairy in the proximal ½ of the tube inside, tube straight or nearly so; lobes 42 x 30mm, the distal ½ reflexed to perpendicular, broadly obovate-spathulate, overlapping to halfway. Stamens loosely arranged in the lower ½–2⁄3 of the mouth, exserted 10–15mm; filaments linear, densely to laxly covered with spreading hairs in the proximal 1⁄3–½, glabrous and filiform distally; anthers 4–8 x 1.5–2mm, oblong, curved; base obtuse or rarely obscurely apiculate. Disc prominent, densely hairy at least on the upper margin. Ovary 9–12 x c.3mm, sub-cylindrical, white with stiff distally directed hairs which cover scales, tapering distally; style lying on the lower side of the tube at first, rising to a central position later; equalling the stamens, densely to laxly hairy in the lower 2⁄3–¾, glabrous distally, with some scattered scales mostly in the proximal ½; stigma c.2mm in diameter, green, rounded. Fruit 50–90 x 5–8mm, cylindrical, tapering at both ends, slightly curved, densely hairy and scaly. Seeds 8–10mm including the tails at both ends.
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Throughout the mainland of New Guinea, Maluku, W Seram in the Ora Mts.
Epiphytic or terrestrial, often in high forest, terrestrial in lighter mountain forest with Castanopsis. Also in secondary forest and common in anthropogenic grassland which is not burnt too frequently, sometimes hanging from precipices. Growing from sea level to 2000m, often abundant, on poor sandy or clayey soil, but also recorded from limestone areas.
R. asparagoides Wernham, Trans. Linn. Soc. London, II, Bot. 1916. 9: 94. R. moszkowskii Schltr., Bot. Jahr. 1918. 55: 161. R. oranum J.J.Sm., Fedde Rep. 1932. 30: 167. R. doctersii J.J.Sm., Nova Guinea 1936. 18: 98, t.21, 1. R. laetum (non J.J.Sm. 1914) J.J.Sm., Nova Guinea 1936. 18: 98.
Argent, G. (2006) Rhododendrons of subgenus Vireya. RHS:London. Page:322