Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
Recommended citation
'Rhododendron luciferum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Shrub or small tree, 1.5–7.5 m. Leaves coriaceous, 8.5–11 × 3–4.5 cm, elliptic to ovate, apex acute to acuminate, lower surface covered with a thick rusty brown indumentum composed of dendroid hairs. Flowers 8–10, in a dense truss, pale yellow, with at least a few red flecks, funnel-campanulate, without nectar pouches, 30–45 mm; ovary densely covered with a pale brown tomentum; style glabrous. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution China SE Tibet
Habitat 3,350–4,000 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H6
Conservation status Vulnerable (VU)
This species is closely allied to R. lanatum but it is usually a larger plant, with a reddish brown leaf indumentum. It also has a more Easterly distribution. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)