22. Rhododendron subsect. Fulgensia D. F. Chamberlain, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 37: 336. 1979.
猩红杜鹃亚组 xing hong du juan ya zu
Hu Linzhen (胡琳贞 Hu Ling-cheng); David F. Chamberlain
Shrubs or small trees; young shoots tomentose, glandular or glabrous. Leaf blade oblong-elliptic to obovate; abaxial surface densely fulvous woolly, hairs fasciculate or long-stipitate stellate. Inflorescence terminal, lax or dense, 4–14-flowered; rachis 0.2–2.5 cm. Calyx minute to well-developed and cup-shaped, 1–10 mm, 5-lobed; corolla funnel- to tubular-campanulate, 5-lobed, fleshy, blood-red, or scarlet to deep carmine, with nectar pouches; stamens 10; ovary and style glabrous. Capsule straight or slightly curved.
Three species: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Sikkim; three species (two endemic) in China.
The circumscription of Rhododendron subsect. Fulgensia is problematic. Whereas R. fulgens is perfectly distinct, both R. miniatum and R. sherriffii are closely allied to species in R. subsect. Thomsonia, though with leaves abaxially densely hairy.
