Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
Recommended citation
'Rhododendron ludlowii' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Small spreading shrub, to 0.3 m; young shoots scaly, glabrous. Leaves c.1.5 x 1 cm, broadly obovate or oblong-obovate, apex obtuse, margin crenate, lower surface with distant narrowly rimmed brown scales. Flowers solitary, terminal; calyx lobes c.7 mm, ciliate, corolla yellow, drying greenish yellow, sometimes with red spots, broadly funnel-campanulate, 20-23 mm, tube c. 14 mm, outer surface densely scaly and pubescent; stamens 10; ovary scaly, impressed below the declinate, glabrous style that is longer than the stamens. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution China S Tibet
Habitat c.4,000 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H5
Conservation status Vulnerable (VU)
This is a distinctive species that is rare in the wild. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)