Rhododendron simiarum Hance

The present authors have seen no material of var. grandifolium G. Z. Li (Guihaia 15: 295. 1995), described from Guangxi and Hainan. It is said to differ from var. simiarum in its larger leaf blade (12–17 × 3.5–5.5 cm), 8–12-flowered inflorescence, and 3–4 cm pedicel.

Shrubs, 2–5(–13) m tall; bark gray, exfoliating into thin small irregular flakes; branchlets stout, those more than one year old glabrescent, gray tomentose when young. Petiole cylindric, 15–20 mm, thinly floccose-tomentose at first, glabrescent; leaf blade leathery or thickly leathery, oblanceolate to oblong-lanceolate or long-obovate or oblanceolate, 4–13 × 2–4 cm; base cuneate; apex obtuse or rounded; abaxial surface indumentum thin, grayish to fawn; adaxial surface green, glabrous; midrib impressed adaxially; lateral veins 10–12-paired, prominent or inconspicuous abaxially, ± obscure adaxially. Inflorescence terminal, racemose-umbellate, 5–9-flowered; rachis 10–25 mm, brownish pilose. Pedicel stout, 1.5–5 cm, whitish to rusty-floccose, or glabrescent; calyx discoid; lobes 5, minute, triangular; corolla funnelform-campanulate or funnelform, pink or white, with a few interior darker flecks, 2–4 cm, lobes 5, orbicular, emarginate; stamens 10–12, unequal, 1–3 cm, filaments sparsely tomentose in lower half; ovary cylindric or conical, 5–6 mm, rufous stellate-tomentose and shortly glandular-hairy; style glabrous or with a few glands at base. Capsule cylindric, 12–20 × ca. 8 mm, often rufous-pubescent. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jul–Aug.

Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, S Hunan, Jiangxi, S Zhejiang.

Open forests, thickets; 500–1800 m.