Guest Article RHODODENDRON UPDATE 5

  • Date: 12th March 2016
  • author: Francis Crome

INTRODUCTION

This is the final part of the Rhododendron species update and contains 33 species. Methods are summarized in Appendix 1. In the following accounts the species name and author is given followed by the journal reference for the original description. Then follows a small account of the species.

Rhododendron coryi Shinners 1961. Castanea 26(4): 156 to 157
Subgenus Hymenanthes, Section Ponticum, Subsection Maculifera

This is an American Rhododendron originally described from Texas in 1961 and is now considered to be a variety of R. viscosum and, like it, has lemony or musky smelling flowers (Solmosy 1974). It is not listed by IUCN. R. viscosum is on the ICON permitted list as at 27 April 2014.

Rhododendron hoi W.P. Fang 1957. Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Szechuan. 1957(2): 216 to 217 pl. 1
Subgenus Rhododendron, Section Pogonanthum

This is a small shrub up to 1m high growing on mountaintops, ridges and grassy slopes between 3500 and 3600 m in Lixian, Maowen, and Wenchuan counties of Xichuan. The branchlets are blackish and scaly and the leaves small, 1.5 to 2.5 × 1 to 1.2 cm, with rounded or wedge shaped bases and pointed tips, the lower surface bearing dense brown or yellowish scales. The small (1.3 to 1.5 cm), funnel shaped, pinkish flowers are born on 10 to 12 flowered inflorescences and have persistent calyx lobes. IUCN list it as Least Concern.

Rhododendron hutchinsonianum W.P. Fang 1953. Acta Phytotax. Sin. 2(1): 83 to 84
Subgenus Rhododendron, Section Rhododendron, Subsection Triflora

We can find no description of this this species and the Flora of China states “It is believed that Rhododendron hutchinsonianum ... described from Xizang, is a variant of R. concinnum”. The latter is on the ICON permitted list as at 27 April 2014.

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