川西杜鹃(原变种) chuan xi du juan (yuan bian zhong)

Rhododendron cookeanum Davidian.

Leaf blade leathery, oblong-elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate, 8–12 × 2.5–3.5 cm; base broadly cuneate or rounded; abaxial surface midrib rufous tomentose near base, hairs stellate. Corolla usually purple or pink. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Sep.

Thickets, alpine slopes; 2800–3100 m. (?S and) W Sichuan.

In Rhododendron cookeanum the corolla is white, which suggests that that taxon is instead synonymous with var. exquisitum. Their distributions are also a better match: R. cookeanum was described from S Sichuan, close to the border with NE Yunnan.