Rhododendron atrovirens Franch.

Large shrub or small tree; young shoots covered with adpressed flattened brown hairs. Leaves of one kind, persistent, 2–8 × 1–3 cm, elliptic, apex acuminate, lower surface covered with adpressed brown hairs, densely so on midrib. Flowers 2–4 per inflorescence; calyx 24 mm, densely covered with flattened shining brown hairs; corolla red, with darker flecks at base of upper lobes, funnel-campanulate, 15–30 mm, glabrous; stamens 10; ovary densely covered with adpressed flattened shining brown hairs; style glabrous. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution  China NE Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou

Habitat 750–1,800 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H3

Conservation status Vulnerable (VU)