Rhododendron lukiangense Franch.

Sponsor

Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron lukiangense' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-lukiangense/). Accessed 2024-12-06.

Genus

Rhododendron
Subsect. Irrorata

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

glabrous: Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
style: Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.
subspecies: (subsp.) Taxonomic rank for a group of organisms showing the principal characters of a species but with significant definable morphological differentiation. A subspecies occurs in populations that can occupy a distinct geographical range or habitat.

References

Royal Horticultural Society (1997). The Rhododendron Handbook 1998

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron lukiangense' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-lukiangense/). Accessed 2024-12-06.

Rhododendron lukiangense in flower at Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium (acc. 14481). 22 February 2024. Image Christophe Crock.

Shrub or small tree, 1–7.5 m. Leaves coriaceous, 8–16.5 × 3–5.2 cm, elliptic to oblanceolate, apex acuminate, lower surface of leaves glabrous though with persistent red punctate hairs bases overlying the veins. Flowers 6–15, in a truss, pale to deep magenta rose, darker on the lobe margins, with darker flecks and usually also a basal blotch; tubular-campanulate; ovary glabrous to sparsely rufous-tomentose, style glabrous. Flowering March-April. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution China SE Tibet, NW Yunnan, SW Sichuan

Habitat 2,100–3,350 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H4

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

This species is closely allied to R. irroratum but may be distinguished from the latter species by its glabrous style. The subspecies that have been recognized in the past intergrade to such an extent that their maintenance is not justified. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Rhododendron lukiangense at Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium (acc. 14481). 22 February 2024. Image Christophe Crock.

Inflorescences on Rhododendron lukiangense at Arboretum Wespelaar, Belgium (acc. 14481). 22 February 2024. Image Christophe Crock.

Contact the editors at