北方雪层杜鹃 bei fang xue ceng du juan

Rhododendron alpicola Rehder & E. H. Wilson; R. alpicola var. strictum Rehder & E. H. Wilson; R. batangense I. B. Balfour & Forrest; R. nigropunctatum Bureau & Franchet; R. oreinum I. B. Balfour; R. oresbium I. B. Balfour & Kingdon Ward; R. ramosissimum Franchet; R. stictophyllum I. B. Balfour; R. vicarium I. B. Balfour; R. violaceum Rehder & E. H. Wilson; R. yaragongense I. B. Balfour.

Leaf apex rounded, mucronulate. Calyx small or obsolete. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

Open moorlands, swampy grassland, dry rocky slopes; 3200–5400 m. S Qinghai, W Sichuan, E Xizang, W Yunnan.

Rhododendron ×edgarianum Rehder & E. H. Wilson (in Sargent, Pl. Wilson. 1: 508. 1913), described from Sichuan, was considered to be a natural hybrid between R. nivale subsp. boreale and an unknown species by Philipson and Philipson (Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 34: 54. 1975).