大橙杜鹃 da cheng du juan

Shrubs, 2–3 m tall; branchlets blackish gray; young branches densely velutinous, glabrescent; bud scales persistent. Petiole 5–17 mm, felted at first, soon glabrescent; leaf blade leathery, elliptic-oblong to obovate, (3–)3.5–7(–10) × (1.2–)1.5–2.5(–3) cm; base cuneate to rounded; apex acute or mucronate; abaxial surface with indumentum 2-layered, densely felted, upper layer of indumentum detersile, lower layer stuck together; adaxial surface green, glabrous; midrib impressed adaxially. Inflorescence racemose-umbellate, 4–7-flowered. Pedicel 0.5–1 cm, densely velutinous; calyx lobes 5–7, ca. 1 mm, undulate-triangular, velutinous; corolla campanulate, white to pink, upper lobes sometimes with red spots, 2.5–3 cm, lobes 5–7, suborbicular, 1–1.2 cm; stamens 10–13, 0.4–1.8 cm, filaments glabrous or pilose in lowest third; ovary conical, densely velutinous; style ca. 2.3 cm, glabrous, stigma capitate. Capsule not known. Fl. Apr.

800–1700 m. EC Guangxi.

The original author placed this species in Rhododendron subsect. Taliensia but suggested that its affinities were with R. haematodes in R. subsect. Neriiflora. From the original description and accompanying plate, R. dachengense appears allied to, and is possibly conspecific with, R. roxieoides.

Lower Taxa

• Rhododendron dachengense var. dachengense
• Rhododendron dachengense var. scopulum G. Z. Li