阔叶杜鹃 kuo ye du juan

Rhododendron cephalanthum Franchet var. platyphyllum Franchet ex Diels, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 7: 211, 392. 1912; R. cephalanthum subsp. platyphyllum (Franchet ex Diels) Cullen.

Erect or semiprostrate shrubs, 0.15–1.5 m tall; branchlets short, scaly; bud scales persistent, large, broadly ovate or rounded. Petiole 3–6 mm, scaly; leaf blade aromatic, broadly elliptic, oblong-ovate or ovate, 3–5 × 2–3 cm; base rounded or cuneate; apex obtuse or rounded, rarely emarginate; abaxial surface scales overlapping, arranged in 2–3 tiers, unequal, brown, dark brown, or rust-colored; adaxial surface dark green, shiny, glabrous. Inflorescence 6–10-flowered. Pedicel 0.3–0.5 cm, scaly; calyx lobes (3–)5–7 mm, oblong or elliptic, persisting to enclose mature capsule, scaly, margin ciliate; corolla narrowly tubular-funnelform, white, creamy white or pink, rarely yellowish or rose, 1.8–2 cm, tube 13–14 mm, outer surface glabrous, inner surface densely pilose; stamens 5(–8), included in corolla tube, filaments slightly puberulous towards base; ovary ca. 1 mm, scaly; style as long as ovary, glabrous. Capsule ovoid, ca. 3 mm, densely scaly. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

Bamboo brakes, among rocks in open alpine pastures, cliffs, ledges; 3000–4500 m. C and NW Yunnan.

This taxon is treated as a subspecies of Rhododendron cephalanthum by some authors.