Rhododendron annae Franch.

Shrubs, evergreen, 1.5–2 m tall; older branches glabrous; young shoots stout, puberulent, sparsely glandular. Petiole cylindric, 10–20 mm, glabrous; leaf blade leathery, lanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 7–10 × 2–3.7 cm; base cuneate; margin slightly undulate; apex acuminate or obtuse; both surfaces glabrous; midrib slightly raised abaxially, deeply grooved adaxialy; lateral veins 12–16-paired, obscure. Inflorescence raceose-umbellate, 6–12-flowered, rachis usually glabrous. Pedicel 1–3 cm, densely stipitate; calyx lobes 5, 1–2 mm, suborbicular, gland-fringed; corolla open-campanulate or cup-shaped, creamy-white or pale rose, pure white or pink, with or without purple flecks, 2–3 cm, lacking nectar pouches; lobes 5, orbicular, 1.5–1.7 cm, emarginate; stamens 10, unequal, 1–2 cm, filaments glabrous; ovary conoid, 4–5 mm, densely glandular; style ca. 2 cm, glandular-hairy to tip. Capsule cylindric, 15–25 × 8–12 mm, glandular. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Aug–Oct.

C and W Guizhou, W Yunnan.

Evergreen broad-leaved forests, forest margins, thickets; 1200–3000 m.

Rhododendron annae (桃叶杜鹃) is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to central and western Guizhou and western Yunnan, China, where it grows at altitudes of 1,500–2,400 m (4,900–7,900 ft). This evergreen shrub grows to 1.5–2 m (6.6 ft) in height, with leathery leaves that are narrow elongate-lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 7–10 by 2–3.7 cm in size. The campanulate flowers are predominantly white, but may be flushed or spotted with pink.