Kindly sponsored by
Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.
Recommended citation
'Rhododendron viscidifolium' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Shrub, 0.6–2.4 m; bark smooth; young shoots glabrous or glandular. Leaves 4–9.7 × 2.8–6.6 cm, oval to orbicular, base rounded to sub-cordate, entirely glabrous, lower epidermis strongly glaucous-papillate, with scattered viscid glands; petioles glabrous. Flowers 1–2; calyx 4–9 mm, cupular; corolla coppery red, with dark nectar pouches and flecks, tubular-campanulate, 35–45 mm; ovary densely tomentose and stalked-glandular, style glabrous. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).
Distribution China SE Tibet
Habitat 2,700–3,350 m
RHS Hardiness Rating H5
Conservation status Endangered (EN)
This species is allied to R. thomsonii but differs in the flower colour, etc. The whole plant is viscid, as the name implies. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).