白钟杜鹃 bai zhong du juan

Shrubs, 1–3 m tall; young shoots densely pale yellow woolly-tomentose. Leaf blade thickly leathery, elliptic-oblong to obovate, 2.2–6.2 × 1–3 cm; base rounded or subcordate; margin slightly revolute; apex obtuse or shortly acuminate; abaxial surface densely rufous woolly, hairs branched; adaxial surface slightly rugulose, glabrous except for ± tomentose groove of midrib, midrib and lateral veins prominent abaxially. Inflorescence racemose-umbellate, 3–5-flowered; rachis 3–4 mm. Pedicel ca. 1 cm, densely tomentose; calyx 1–2 mm, tomentose; corolla campanulate, white or pink, with red spots, 3–3.5 cm, lobes 5; stamens 10, unequal, 1.5–2 cm, filaments pubescent at base; ovary ovoid, 5-lobed, 4–5 mm, densely tomentose; style longer than stamens, glabrous; stigma slightly expanded. Capsule cylindrical, 15–25 × 4–5 mm densely tomentose. Fl. Jun, fr. Aug.

Mixed forests, Rhododendron thickets, stony hillsides, rock ledges; 3200–4500 m. S Xizang [E Bhutan, NE India].

The following two varieties are may be distinguished by the indumentum, especially on the adaxial surface of the leaf blade. In cultivation the two varieties are clearly differentiated.

Lower Taxa

• Rhododendron tsariense var. trimoense Davidian
• Rhododendron tsariense var. tsariense