167. Rhododendron primuliflorum Bureau & Franchet, J. Bot. (Morot). 5: 95. 1891 [“primulaeflorum”].
樱草杜鹃 ying cao du juan
Small shrubs, 0.3–1(–2.5) m tall; branchlets short, thin, twiggy, densely scaly, setose; bud scales deciduous. Petiole ca. 2.4(–5) mm, scaly; leaf blade aromatic, oblong, oblong-elliptic, or ovate-oblong, (0.8–)2–2.5(–3.5) × (0.5–)0.8–1(–1.5) cm; base tapering; margin with or without strap-shaped bristles; apex obtuse, mucronate; abaxial surface scales overlapping, pale yellowish brown or brown, arranged in 2–3 tiers, the lowermost tier paler than rest; adaxial surface dark green, shiny, scales present or absent. Inflorescence 5–8-flowered. Pedicel 0.2–0.4 cm, scaly; calyx lobes 3–5(–6) mm, oblong, lanceolate or oblong-ovate, persisting to enclose mature capsule, usually scaly, margin ciliate or not; corolla narrowly tubular-funnelform, white with yellow tube, rarely rose or entirely pink, 1.2–1.9 cm, tube 6–10(–12) mm, outer surface usually glabrous, more rarely sparsely pilose or somewhat scaly, throat densely pilose, lobes spreading; stamens 5(or 6), included in corolla tube, filaments glabrous; ovary ca. 1 mm, scaly; style turbinate, nearly as long as ovary. Capsule ovoid-cylindric, 4–5 mm, densely scaly. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Sep.
Mixed forests, thickets, alpine moorlands, swamps, rocky pastures and slopes, cliffs, boulders; 2900–5000(–5100) m. S Gansu, W Sichuan, S Xizang, N Yunnan.
