甘南杜鹃 gan nan du juan

Shrubs or trees, 3–5 m tall; young shoots pilose. Petiole 1–2 cm, sparsely pilose or glabrous; leaf blade leathery, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, 6.5–12 × 2.5–4.5 cm; base rounded or truncate; margin revolute; apex obtuse, mucronate; abaxial surface densely ferruginous floccose; adaxial surface green, glabrous; midrib prominent abaxially, grooved adaxially; lateral veins 12–18-paired. Inflorescence an umbellate raceme, 6–10-flowered; rachis 5–10 mm. Pedicel 0.8–1.5 cm, glandular and pilose; calyx minute, with an undulate margin, densely glandular; corolla broadly campanulate, pink, with purple flecks within, 2–3 cm, lobes 5; stamens 10, unequal, filaments glabrous; ovary conoid, glabrous; style as long as corolla, glabrous. Capsule cylindrical, 13–15 mm, glabrous.

Abies forests; 2800–3000 m. S Gansu (Zhugqu).

This species was diagnosed by the original authors as differing from Rhododendron wallichii in having a short inflorescence rachis, glandular pedicel and calyx, shorter, pink corolla (2–3 cm), and glabrous filaments. The present authors have seen no material and are therefore uncertain of its true affinities, although from the protologue it appears perfectly distinct from R. wallichii.