Rhododendron ciliicalyx Franch.

Shrubs, 1–2 m tall; old branches gray-white, bark peeling, glabrous; young shoots brown, sparsely scaly, densely yellow-hispid. Petiole 6–10 mm, sparsely scaly; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, narrowly ovate to oblong-elliptic, 4.5–7 × 1.5–4.5 cm; base cuneate; apex acute; abaxial surface gray-green, scales 0.5–1.5 × their own diameter apart, unequal, brown; adaxial surface sparsely scaly when young; midrib and lateral veins raised abaxially, concave adaxially; lateral veins 8-paired, thin. Inflorescence umbellate, 2- or 3-flowered. Pedicel 0.6–1 cm, densely scaly; calyx undulate, 5-lobed; lobes to 6 mm, rounded or triangular, densely scaly; corolla broadly funnelform, pale purple, pale red or white, 3–5 cm, outer surface not scaly but pubescent; lobes ovate, as long as tube; stamens 10, unequal, shorter than corolla; filaments sparsely pubescent below, anthers ca. 6 mm; ovary 5(or 6)-locular, densely scaly; style as long as stamens, basal half scaly. Capsule cylindric-ovate, 10–20 mm, densely scaly. Fl. Apr, fr. Oct–Dec.

Guizhou, Yunnan [NE India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].

Mixed forests, thickets on rocky mountains, dry slopes; 1000–3100 m.