Rhododendron dalhousiae Hook.f.

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Genus

Rhododendron
Subsect. Maddenia

Infraspecifics

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

References

Royal Horticultural Society (1997). The Rhododendron Handbook 1998

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron dalhousiae' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-dalhousiae/). Accessed 2024-09-20.

Usually an epiphytic shrub (in the wild), in cultivation 1–3 m; young shoots setose. Leaves (7.5–)10–17 × 3.5–7 cm, usually narrowly elliptic, apex rounded, margins often crenulate, upper surface with raised midrib, lower surface greyish, with small unequal reddish scales that are more than their own diameter apart. Flowers 2–3 in a loose terminal inflorescence, slightly scented, pedicels pubescent and scaly; calyx lobes 10–15 mm, pubescent on outer surface; corolla white or cream, often yellowish inside, sometimes with five reddish lines running up lobes, narrowly funnel-campanulate to funnel-campanulate, 85–105 mm; stamens 10; ovary scaly, tapering into the style that is scaly below. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution Bhutan China S Tibet India Sikkim, W Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh

Habitat 1,800–2,600 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H3

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

var. dalhousiae

Corolla lacking longitudinal lines.

Distribution Nepal, India (Sikkim, W Bengal), Bhutan, China (S Tibet).

Habitat 1,800–2,450m.

Awards AM 1930 (Vice Adm. A.W. Heneage-Vivian, Clyne Castle, Swansea); flowers soft yellow, shaded green in tube. AM 1974 (Maj. A.E. Hardy, Sandling Park, Kent) to a clone ‘Tom Spring Smythe’; flowers green, fading to greenish white. FCC 1974 (Maj. A.E. Hardy, Sandling Park, Kent) to a clone ‘Frank Ludlow’, from L., S. & T. 6694; flowers white, stained yellow at base internally

Rhododendron dalhousiae var. dalhousiae at Borde Hill, West Sussex, UK. 18 April 2009. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron dalhousiae var. dalhousiae at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 8 May 2015. Image John Anderson.

var. rhabdotum (Balf.f. & Cooper) Cullen

Synonyms
R. rhabdotum Balf.f & Cooper

Corolla with five longitudinal red lines. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution

Bhutan
China – S Tibet
India – Arunachal Pradesh

Awards
AM 1931 (Lady Aberconway & Hon. H.D. McLaren, Bodnant). FCC 1936 (L. de Rothschild, Exbury). AGM 1993

This species is closely allied to R. lindleyi but may be distinguished by the pubescent pedicels. The small differences between the two varieties do not justify their recognition as separate species. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Washington, in June 2023. Image John Grimshaw.

Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum with its characteristic red stripes, flowering under cover at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 29 May 2015. Image John Anderson.

Fresh flowers of Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum are soft yellow (Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Washington, June 2023).

The flowers of Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum fade to white as they mature, always retaining the red stripe (Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Washington, June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

Buds of Rhododendron dalhousiae var. rhabdotum are soft yellow (Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Washington, June 2023). Image John Grimshaw.

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