楔叶杜鹃 xie ye du juan

Rhododendron cheilanthum I. B. Balfour & Forrest; R. ravum I. B. Balfour & W. W. Smith; R. sclerocladum I. B. Balfour & Forrest.

Shrubs, 1–2(–4) m tall; bud scales deciduous. Petiole 5–15 mm, scaly; leaf blade narrowly to broadly elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 1–7 × 0.5–2.8 cm; base cuneate to rounded; apex acute or obtuse, strongly mucronate; abaxial surface scales contiguous or overlapping, uniformly brown to dark brown or fawn, rarely with darker spots; adaxial surface pale green, matt. Inflorescence 1–6-flowered. Pedicel 2–1.5 cm; calyx usually reddish, lobes (2–)5–8(–12) mm, oblong, persistent in fruit, scales present, pale, forming a central band, margin long-ciliate; corolla funnelform, deep purple to rose-lavender, rarely white, usually with darker markings, (1.2–)2–3(–3.4) cm, outer surface usually scaly, pubescent; stamens 10, filaments pubescent in lower part; ovary scaly; style declinate, often longer than stamens and corolla, pubescent towards base. Capsule cylindric-ovoid, 6–14 mm, densely scaly. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Oct.

Pinus and Quercus forests, thickets, rocky slopes; 2700–4200 m. SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan.