Shrubs, 0.3–2 m tall; young shoots scaly or hispid. Petiole ca. 6 mm, scaly, hispid; leaf blade leathery, elliptic or oblong-elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 3–8 × 1.6–3.7 cm; base rounded or obtuse; apex acute, obtuse or acuminate, apiculate; abaxial surface scales 2–3 × their own diameter apart, small, hispid along midrib; adaxial surface scaly, hispid. Inflorescence terminal, racemose or cymose, 2–4-flowered; rachis 2–3 mm, scaly and pubescent or glabrous. Pedicel 0.5–1 cm, scaly, densely hispid; calyx pale green or red, deeply 5-lobed; lobes ca. 8 mm, broadly ovate, sparsely scaly at base; corolla funnelform, white tinged with pale red, 3.7–5 cm, glabrous throughout; lobes 5, emarginate; stamens 10, unequal, 1.2–3.1 cm, filaments densely pubescent at base; ovary 5–6-locular, densely scaly; style as long as corolla, glabrous. Capsule broadly ovoid, 10–16 mm, densely scaly. Fl. Feb–Mar.

Rhododendron thickets on slopes, rocky cliffs; 2700–3500 m. S Xizang [Bhutan, E Nepal, Sikkim].