Rhododendron fargesii Franch.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron fargesii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-fargesii/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

Infraspecifics

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
clone
Organism arising via vegetative or asexual reproduction.
cordate
Heart-shaped (i.e. with two equal lobes at the base).
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
glandular
Bearing glands.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
variety
(var.) Taxonomic rank (varietas) grouping variants of a species with relatively minor differentiation in a few characters but occurring as recognisable populations. Often loosely used for rare minor variants more usefully ranked as forms.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron fargesii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-fargesii/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

An evergreen shrub 10 ft high, of bushy habit; leaves oblong-ovate, rounded at the apex, slightly cordate at the base, 2 to 312 in. long, 112 to 212 in. wide, dull grey-green above, pale and rather glaucous beneath, glabrous at maturity on both surfaces; stalk 1 to 114 in. long. Flowers in a terminal truss of six to eight. Calyx shallowly seven-lobed, glandular-downy like the flower-stalk. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, seven-lobed, 2 in. deep, 212 in. wide, pale rose or purplish pink, often with deeper spots on the upper side. Stamens twelve or fourteen, glabrous, about half as long as the corolla, white with brown anthers. Style longer than stamens, glabrous; ovary glandular. Bot. Mag., t. 8736. (s. Fortunei ss. Oreodoxa)

Native of W. Hupeh and E. Szechwan at 6,500 to 9,500 ft in mixed woods or with conifers and birches, or forming thickets on exposed slopes and mountain tops; discovered by the French missionary Farges between 1891 and 1894 and introduced by Wilson in 1901 from W. Hupeh. According to him, it is extremely floriferous in the wild, sometimes flowering so abundantly that the bushes exhaust themselves and die. This is also true of the cultivated plants. It is very closely allied to R. oreodoxa (q.v.) and has the same value in gardens; it differs in its glandular ovary and relatively broader leaves.

Award of Merit March 9, 1926, when exhibited by Gerald Loder, Wakehurst Place, Sussex (flowers pale rosy pink, spotted); also to clone ‘Budget Farthing’, April 15, 1969, shown by Lord Aberconway and the National Trust, Bodnant, Denbigh.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

This becomes a variety of R. oreodoxa.


R erubescens Hutch

Near to R. fargesii, differing in the larger leaves with the midrib and lateral veins impressed above, and in the hairy filaments of the stamens. Described from a plant raised from seeds collected by Wilson in China. Uncommon in cultivation. Bot. Mag., t. 8643.