Rhododendron strigillosum Franch.

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Credits

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

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron strigillosum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-strigillosum/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

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.
campanulate
Bell-shaped.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
midrib
midveinCentral and principal vein in a leaf.
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 strigillosum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-strigillosum/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

Shrub or small tree, 1.5–6 m; young shoots densely long-stalked-glandular. Leaves 7.5–14 × 1.8–3.8 cm, elliptic to oblanceolate, apex cuspidate, lower surface with varying amounts of crisped setae with glandular or branched tips that usually persist; petioles glandular-setose. Flowers 8–12 in a truss; calyx c.1 mm; corolla deep red, tubular-campanulate, with nectar pouches, 40–60 mm; ovary with a dense covering of long weak glandular hairs, style glabrous. Flowering February-April. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution  China NE Yunnan, W Sichuan

Habitat 2,200–3,350 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H5

Awards AM 1923 (Lady Aberconway & Hon. H.D. McLaren, Bodnant); flowers a rich blood red.

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note A distinctive species, that hybridizes in the wild with R. pachytrichum (q.v.). Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

An evergreen shrub or small tree up to 20 ft high, the young shoots and leafstalks clothed thickly with stiff, pale, gland-tipped bristles, 16 in. long, which persist partially through the first winter. Leaves narrowly oblong-lanceolate, slender pointed, heart-shaped at the base, 3 to 6 in. long, 34 to 112 in. wide, dull green and glabrous above, clothed with brown hairs beneath, especially on the midrib; stalk 14 to 58 in. long. Flowers borne in March, sometimes in February or April, in terminal trusses of up to twelve, on bristly stalks about 12 in. long. Calyx rim-like. Corolla rich red, sometimes paler or even white, tubular-campanulate, 112 to 2 in. long and wide, unspotted, with dark nectar-pouches at the base. Stamens ten, glabrous. Ovary densely clad with gland-tipped bristles; style glabrous. Bot. Mag., t. 8864. (s. Barbatum ss. Maculiferum)

A rare native of W. Szechwan, known only from Mt Omei, the Wa-shan, and around Pao-hsing-hsien; discovered by the French missionary David in 1869; introduced by Wilson for Messrs Veitch in 1904. It is a striking plant, easily recognisable even when out of flower by its narrow, drooping, bristly leaves. It is hardy in a sheltered position, but flowers too early in the year to be suitable for general planting. The colour of cultivated plants is usually a rich red. It received an Award of Merit when shown from Bodnant on February 27, 1923.