越桔杜鹃 yue ju du juan

Rhododendron sinovaccinioides I. B. Balfour & Forrest.

Small shrubs, sometimes epiphytic, 0.3–1 m tall; branches sparse, long, often pendulous; young shoots densely papillate-glandular, rough, glandular-hairy. Petiole 1–3 mm, scaly; leaf blade thick and leathery, spathulate-oblanceolate or oblong-obovate, 1.3–2 × 0.5–0.8 cm; base cuneate, decurrent along petiole; apex rounded, emarginate, apiculate; abaxial surface scales 2–5 × their own diameter apart, glandular; concave; adaxial surface glabrous; lateral veins inconspicuous on both surfaces. Inflorescence terminal, umbellate, 1- or 2-flowered. Pedicel 0.1–0.15 cm, glandular-scaly; calyx lobes 5, ca. 3 mm, oblong or ovate; corolla campanulate, 5-lobed, creamy white or white tinged with pale red, 0.6–1.1 cm, outer surface glandular scaly; stamens 10, unequal, as long as corolla; filaments densely villous in lower 2/3; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly, glabrous; style stout, erect or arched, shorter than corolla and stamen. Capsule long-cylindric, 14–30 mm. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul.

Epiphytic on tree trunks in evergreen broad-leaved forests and evergreen and deciduous mixed forests, rocks; 1800–2700(–3100) m. SE Xizang, NW and SE Yunnan [Bhutan, India, N Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].