桃花杜鹃 tao hua du juan

Rhododendron tsangpoense Kingdon Ward var. pruniflorum (Hutchinson & Kingdon Ward) Cowan & Davidian.

Shrubs, evergreen, 0.3–1.2 m tall; stem and branches with brown smooth flaking bark. Petiole 2–8 mm, scaly; leaf blade leathery, aromatic, obovate to oblong, 2–4(–5) × 1–2(–2.5) cm; base obtuse or tapering; apex obtuse or rounded, mucronate; abaxial surface glaucous, scales almost contiguous, unequal, the smaller pale yellow, larger brown, widely separated; adaxial surface dark green, shiny, usually scaly. Inflorescence 3–5(–7)-flowered. Pedicel slender, 1.3–3.5 cm, scaly; calyx lobes 3–5 mm, oblong-ovate, persisting to enclose mature capsule, scaly, margin usually sparsely ciliate; corolla campanulate, dull crimson to plum purple, or rarely pink, 1–1.3 cm, tube 5–8 mm; outer surface not or only sparsely scaly; stamens 10, nearly as long as corolla, filaments densely pubescent in lower 1/2 or nearly to apex; ovary densely scaly; style stout, sharply bent or deflexed, short, usually scaly at base, otherwise glabrous. Capsule ovoid, 4–6 mm, densely scaly. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Jul–Aug.

Abies forests, Rhododendron thickets, rocky slopes; 3000–4000 m. SE Xizang [NE India, NE Myanmar].