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Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
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'Rhododendron myrtifolium' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Small shrub, to 0.5 m; young shoots densely scaly, sometimes with a few hairs. Leaves 1.4–2.3 × 0.5–0.8 cm, narrowly obovate, apex obtuse; margin not ciliate, obscurely crenulate, upper surface dark green, shining, lower surface scaly but not densely so. Flowers many, in a dense inflorescence; rhachis 10–20 mm; pedicels scaly and pubescent; calyx lobes to 2 mm, narrowly triangular, usually fringed with scales and a few hairs; corolla pink, tubular-campanulate, 15–17 mm, outer surface sparsely scaly, densely pubescent; stamens 10; style shorter than to as long as the ovary. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)
Distribution Bulgaria Romania Russia W
Habitat 1,200–2,400 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H6
Conservation status Least concern (LC)
This species is closely allied to R. ferrugineum, replacing it in the East. It differs in its hairy pedicels, paler flowers and shorter style. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)