53. Rhododendron triflorum J. D. Hooker, Rhododendr. Sikkim-Himalaya. 2: t. 19. 1851.
三花杜鹃 san hua du juan
Shrubs or rarely small trees, often evergreen, sometimes semievergreen, 1–4 m tall; young shoots scaly. Petiole 4–9 mm, scaly; leaf blade ovate, oblong, ovate-lanceolate, or oblong-lanceolate, 2.5–6.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm; base rounded or cordate; apex acuminate, acute or obtuse, apiculate; abaxial surface gray white or pale green, scales to 1 × their own diameter apart, all similar, ± rimless; adaxial surface without scales. Inflorescence terminal, shortly racemose, 2–5(or more)-flowered; rachis 3–5 mm, scaly. Pedicel 0.6–1.6 cm, erect and ca. 1.2 cm in fruit, scaly; calyx lobes rounded, ovate or triangular, 0.5–1 mm, densely scaly; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, pale yellow, sometimes with lobes tinged pink, inside with brown spots, 2–3.3 cm, outer surface scaly, pubescent or without hairs; stamens unequal, 1.2–2.8 cm, longer than corolla; filaments villous; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly; style long, glabrous. Capsule cylindric, 7–12 mm. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.
Forests, thickets; 2500–3700 m. S Xizang, WC Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].
