Rhododendron laudandum Cowan

Small shrub, usually to 0.6 m; leaf bud scales persistent but not conspicuous. Leaves 1.1–1.7 × 0.6–0.9 cm, oblong to ovate or almost orbicular, apex rounded, slightly mucronate; lower surface covered with 2–3 tiers of overlapping chocolate-brown scales, the lowest tier as dark as or darker than the upper tiers. Flowers many, in a dense racemose umbel; calyx lobes 5–6 mm; corolla white or pink, rarely yellowish, hypocrateriform, tube 4.5–11.5 mm, outer surface pilose, inner surface densely pilose at mouth, lobes 3.5–6 mm; stamens 5–6; ovary scaly, sometimes also sparsely puberulent. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution  China SE Tibet

Habitat 2,900–4,700 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H6

Conservation status Vulnerable (VU)