Rhododendron blinii H. Léveillé; R. costulatum Franchet; R. lemeei H. Léveillé.

Shrubs, 1–3 m tall; young shoots sparsely scaly. Petiole 5–9 mm, sparsely scaly; leaf blade papery, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, 4–9 × 1.5–2.5 cm; base broadly cuneate to rounded; apex acuminate, apiculate; abaxial surface scales 5.5–6 × their own diameter apart, yellow or brown; adaxial surface sparsely scaly; midrib and lateral veins slender; lateral veins 12-paired, inconspicuous on both surfaces. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, 1–3-flowered. Pedicel 0.4–1.5 cm, scaly; calyx undeveloped, undulate, 5-lobed or rimlike, 0.5–1 mm; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, 5-lobed to the middle, yellow, 2–2.5 cm, outer surface sparsely scaly and densely pubescent; lobes oblong; stamens 10, unequal, long ones longer than corolla, with fewer hairs, shorter stamens with filament base densely villous; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly; style glabrous. Capsule cylindric, ca. 10 mm. Fl. Mar–Apr.

Wet areas in mixed forests, thickets on limestone slopes; 1700–2000 m. Guizhou, W Sichuan, Yunnan.