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Rhododendron balangense Fang

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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

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'Rhododendron balangense' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-balangense/). Accessed 2024-12-04.

Genus

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron balangense' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-balangense/). Accessed 2024-12-04.

Rhododendron balangense

Rhododendron balangense JN 12019 growing superbly at Glendoick, Perthshire, UK (June 2005). Image John McQuire.

Small tree, c.3 m; bark rough. Leaves thick, 6–10 × 3.5–5 cm, obovate to elliptic-obovate, apex acute; lower surface covered with a white or pale yellowish partially floccose indumentum composed of dendroid hairs; petioles thick, more or less flattened. Flowers 13–15, in a dense truss, 5–6-lobed, white, funnel-campanulate, with purple nectar pouches, 35–40 mm; stamens 10–12; ovary glabrous. Flowering May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution  China W Sichuan

Habitat c. 2,000 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

Conservation status Endangered (EN)

R. balangense was originally placed in Subsect. Taliensia but is apparently allied to R. watsonii. It is restricted to a single mountain (Balang Shan), in W Sichuan. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Rhododendron balangense

Foliage on Rhododendron balangense at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK (17 April 2023). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Rhododendron balangense

Leaf selection on Rhododendron Balangense, with lamina elliptic to obovate and a stout petiole (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 17 April 2023). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Rhododendron balangense

Bud with elongated outer scales and reddish petioles on Rhododendron Balangense (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 17 April 2023). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

Rhododendron balangense

Pale lamina lower surface with thin indumentum on Rhododendron Balangense (Sir Harold Hillier Gardens, UK – 17 April 2023). Image © Jan De Langhe - Arboretum Wespelaar.

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