早春杜鹃 zao chun du juan

Shrubs or trees, 2–7 m tall; shoots 5–6 mm in diam. below inflorescence; young shoots gray pubescent, glabrescent. Petiole stout, 15–25 mm, pubescent when young; leaf blade leathery, elliptic-lanceolate, (9–)10–19.5 × (2–)3.3–5 cm; base cuneate; margin revolute; apex obtuse or acute; both surfaces glabrous; abaxial surface pale green; adaxial surface dark green; midrib prominent abaxially, grooved adaxially; lateral veins 14–20-paired. Inflorescence 7–10-flowered; rachis ca. 13 mm, pubescent. Pedicel 1.5–3 cm, glabrous; calyx lobes 5, 1.5–2 mm, glabrous; corolla campanulate, white to rose, with purple flecks and a blotch at base, 5.8–6.2 cm, outer surface glabrous, puberulent within towards base; stamens 15–16, unequal, 2.4–4.5 cm, filaments puberulent below; ovary conoid, ca. 8 mm, glabrous; style 4.4–4.6 cm, glabrous. Capsule cylindric, 25–30 mm. Fl. Mar–Apr, fr. Sep–Oct.

Forests; 1500–2500 m. Guizhou, W Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, NE Yunnan.