扫帚锦绦花 sao zhou jin tao hua

Andromeda fastigiata Wallich, Asiat. Res. 13: 394. 1820.

Shrubs 8–20 cm tall. Stems initially decumbent, ultimately much branched, fastigiate, stiff white pubescent. Leaves densely imbricate; leaf blade ovate-triangular, 4–6 × 1.5–2 mm, leathery, abaxially deeply furrowed, furrow reaching near apex and diverging near base, furrow rim densely pubescent, adaxially concave, subglabrous, base divergent, 2-lobed, margin silvery, membranous, densely ciliolate, apex with apicule 0.5–1 mm. Flower nutant. Pedicel 3–7 mm, densely crisped-tomentose. Calyx purple; lobes oblong-ovate, 4–5 mm, margin broadly membranous. Corolla white, broadly campanulate, 6–9 mm; lobes spreading, oblong, 2–4 mm. Stamens ca. 2.5 mm; filaments glabrous; awns ca. 1 mm. Capsule 2–3 mm in diam. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Jun–Sep.

Alpine thickets, rocky places; 3000–4500 m. S Xizang [Bhutan, ?Kashmir, Nepal, Pakistan, Sikkim].

One of us (Stevens) suggests that there exists a possible hybrid in Xizang (see H. Smith 3823).