Rhododendron houlstonii Hemsl. & Wils.

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Credits

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

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

Synonyms

  • Rhododendron fortunei var. houlstonii (Hemsl. & Wils.) Rehd. & Wils.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
included
(botanical) Contained within another part or organ.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
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.
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.
viscid
Sticky.

References

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Credits

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

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

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

An evergreen shrub up to 12 ft high, with stout, glabrous branchlets. Leaves oblong or slightly obovate, 3 to 6 in. long, 34 to 2 in. wide, narrowed abruptly at the apex to a short point, tapered or rounded at the base, both surfaces perfectly smooth, the upper one dark green, the lower very pale; stalk purple, 12 to 118 in. long. Flowers eight or more in a truss, flesh-pink, about 3 in. across. Corolla widely bell-shaped, seven-lobed; stamens twelve or fourteen, with glabrous stalks; summit of ovary and base of style hairy-glandular; flower-stalk covered with viscid stalked glands, 1 in. or more long. (s. and ss. Fortunei)

Native of W. Hupeh and E. Szechwan; discovered by Augustine Henry in 1888 and introduced by Wilson in 1900 from the Hsing-shan region of Hupeh. It first flowered in Veitch’s Coombe Wood nursery in 1913. According to Wilson it is a woodland species, but never seen by him more than 15 ft high and always compact. In the wild it flowers in late April or early May, about three weeks earlier than R. fortunei. It is allied to that species, but differs in the tapered base of the leaves, the glandular flower-stalks, the bell-shaped corolla and longer stamens.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

Included in R. fortunei subsp. discolor.