Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
Recommended citation
'Rhododendron carringtoniae' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Shrub or small tree up to 5 m, terrestrial, young stems rather densely covered in thin scales. Leaves 3.5–9 × 2.5–5.5 cm, obovate to broadly elliptic, the apex obtuse to rounded, the margin entire, revolute, the base broadly tapering, rounded or truncate; upper surface finely covered in small scales, quickly glabrescent, midrib impressed above, lateral veins 6–8 pairs somewhat raised; lower surface with the midrib strongly prominent beneath, the lateral veins obscure almost smooth, subdensely but minutely scaly the scales shallowly and irregularly lobed, impressed and with small centres. Flowers 3–9 per umbel, held erect or semi-erect; calyx a low fringed ring; corolla white, fragrant, trumpet-shaped with the tube slightly curved, 5–7 × 1.8–2.5 cm, subdensely scaly outside; stamens 10, slightly exserted from the mouth of the flower; ovary covered with semi-appressed hairs which tend to obscure an additional covering of scales. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution Papua New Guinea East, Mts Obree, Victoria, Suckling and Dayman
Habitat 1,830–2,950 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H2
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
Superficially somewhat like R. herzogii but the scales have small centres unlike that species and the foliage is not aromatic. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)