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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
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'Rhododendron cruttwellii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Shrub or small tree up to 6 m, young stems laxly scaly, Leaves 6–12.5 × 3–6 cm, obovate to elliptic or broadly elliptic, the apex mostly obtuse, sometimes rounded or acute, the margin plain and flat, the base tapering to broadly tapering; upper surface at first finely and minutely silvery scaly with the midrib impressed, lateral veins 6–8 pairs, narrowly but distinctly impressed above to give conspicuous reticulation; under surface with the midrib strongly raised, the laterals not raised but distinctively darker than the pale lamina surface and so showing up as a very distinctive reticulation, scales small brown, rather irregular, circular to lobed, well spaced and with small centres. Flowers 4–9 per umbel, erect or semi-erect; calyx a lobed, almost glabrous but laxly ciliate ring; corolla white, trumpet-shaped, the tube slightly curved, 5–7 × 2.5–3 cm, finely scaly outside; stamens 10, exserted from the mouth of the flower and distributed evenly; ovary covered with semi-erect, whitish hairs but no scales, style hairy at the very base otherwise glabrous. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution Papua New Guinea SE
Habitat 1,800–2,600 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H2
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
A beautiful and easily cultivated species named after the Rev. Canon Norman Cruttwell who after taking First Class honours in botany at Oxford went on to pursue a career as a missionary in New Guinea but sent a great many plants for description and cultivation from the remote areas in which he worked. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)