Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
Recommended citation
'Rhododendron haofui' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Shrub, 4–6 m. Leaves leathery, 7–22 × 3–7 cm, elliptic, upper surface shining, lower surface covered with a thick cinnamon tomentum that becomes greyish-white and thinner on maturity. Flowers 5–9 per inflorescence; calyx c.1 mm; corolla white, sometimes flushed with rose and/or with a red basal blotch, broadly campanulate, without nectar pouches; stamens 18–21; ovary covered with a dense whitish to pale brown tomentum, style glabrous. Flowering May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution China Guizhou, Guangxi, Hunan
Habitat 1,500 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H6
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
The large number of stamens and characteristic leaves make this a very distinctive species. It has only recently been introduced into cultivation but appears to be relatively hardy despite its provenance. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)