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Rhododendron rigidum Franch.

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Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998

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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron rigidum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-rigidum/). Accessed 2024-12-03.

Genus

Synonyms

  • Rhododendron caeruleum H.Lev.
  • Rhododendron eriandrum H.Lev.

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron rigidum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-rigidum/). Accessed 2024-12-03.

Rhododendron rigidum

Rhododendron rigidum, Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. April 2018. Image John Grimshaw.

Shrub, 1–10 m; young shoots sparsely scaly, with a bloom. Leaves 3–6.5 × 1.3–2.5 cm, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, apex acute, upper surface glabrous, lower surface with narrowly rimmed golden or brown scales 5–8× their own diameter apart; petioles glabrous. Flowers 2–6, in a loose terminal inflorescence; calyx minute, usually glabrous; corolla white to rose-pink or lilac, sometimes with red flecks, widely funnel-shaped, (21–)24–27(–30) mm, outer surface usually lacking scales, glabrous; stamens 10; ovary scaly, impressed below the declinate, glabrous style. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution  China N Yunnan, SW Sichuan, Guizhou

Habitat 2,000–3,350 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

Awards AM 1933 (H. White, Sunningdale Nurseries) as R. eriandrum, from Rock 11288 (USDA 59207); flowers white, slightly pink-flushed. AM 1939 (L. de Rothschild, Exbury) as R. caeruleum, from Rock 11288 (USDA 59207); flowers white, spotted red.

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note (incl. R. caeruleum H.Lev. & R. eriandrum H.Lev.) Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

This species differs from the closely allied R. pleistanthum in its more distant leaf scales and glabrous petioles. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Rhododendron rigidum

Rhododendron rigidum, Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. April 2018. Image John Grimshaw.

Rhododendron rigidum

Rhododendron rigidum Rock 5047 in Ray Wood, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, UK. April 2022. Image John Grimshaw.

Rhododendron rigidum

A rather leggy group of Rhododendron rigidum at Crarae, Argyll, UK. Like most members of Subsection Triflora R. rigidum would probably tolerate some regenerative pruning. 11 May 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Rhododendron rigidum

Close up of flowers on Rhododendron rigidum at Crarae, Argyll, UK. 11 May 2022. Image Tom Christian.

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