Rhododendron setosum D. Don

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron setosum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-setosum/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

Genus

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
indumentum
A covering of hairs or scales.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
setose
Bristly.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron setosum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-setosum/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

Dwarf intricate shrublet, to 0.3 m; young shoots densely scaly, and with conspicuous loriform setae. Leaves 1–1.5 × 0.6–0.8 cm, elliptic to obovate, apex rounded, mucronate, margins ciliate, lower surface covered with vesicular and golden, or flat, broadly rimmed and pale to dark brown dimorphic scales. Flowers 1–3 per inflorescence; calyx lobes 5–8 mm, oblong-orbicular; corolla purple or pinkish, open-funnel-shaped, 15–18 mm; stamens 10, about as long as corolla; ovary scaly and pubescent towards apex, style longer than stamens, glabrous. Flowering May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution  BhutanChina S Tibet - Chumbi Valley India Sikkim, W Bengal Nepal

Habitat 3,650–4,550 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note Its general appearance places R. setosum in Subsect. Lapponica, but it is anomalous in respect of the setose indumentum. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

A dwarf evergreen shrub 6 to 12 in. high, of close, bushy habit; young shoots densely clothed with pale bristles and minute down. Leaves oblong, tapered at the base, rounded at the apex, 38 to 58 in. long, bristly on the margins, very scaly above, rather glaucous and less scaly beneath. Flowers three to eight in a terminal cluster; pedicels scaly, slender, about 14 in. long. Calyx comparatively large, scaly and downy, divided almost to the base into five ovate lobes about 14 in. long. Corolla about 1 in. across, reddish purple, lobed to two-thirds of its depth. Stamens ten, hairy at the base. Ovary scaly; style glabrous. Bot. Mag., t. 8523.

Native of the Himalaya as far west as Kumaon; introduced in 1825. It is an alpine rhododendron, found at altitudes of up to 16,000 ft. ‘It is the Tsallu of the Sikkim Bhoteas and Tibetans, who attribute the oppression and headaches attending the crossing of the loftiest passes of Eastern Himalaya to the strongly resinous odour of this and of R. anthopogon, Wall. (Palu of the natives). The species certainly abounds near the summits of all the passes, and after hot sunshine fills the atmosphere with its powerful aroma, far too heavy to be agreeable, and greatly aggravating the discomforts of toiling in the rarefied medium of these elevations’ (Hooker).

R. setosum is at present placed in the Lapponicum series, though its deeply lobed corolla, large calyx, and bristly stems are not in keeping with that series. It is an interesting species, with brightly coloured flowers, but is difficult to cultivate successfully in southern England, where it misses its winter covering of snow and is often excited into growth too early.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

It was mentioned in the last paragraph (page 769) that this is out of place in the Lapponicum series. It is, however, retained in subsect. Lapponica in the Edinburgh revision, as an aberrant member.