Rhododendron calostrotum I. B. Balf. & F. K. Ward

Small erect shrubs, 0.2–1 m tall; young shoots with dense stipitate or sessile scales, not hispid (strap-shaped setae absent). Petiole 2–6 mm, densely scaly, without strap-shaped setae; leaf blade ovate-elliptic to oblong-elliptic, or ovate, 0.5–2.5 × 0.3–1.4 cm, rounded or acuminate on both sides, apiculate; abaxial surface brown, scales dense, overlapping or arranged in 3–5 tiers, not flattened; adaxial surface dark, scales dense, 1 or more × their own diameter apart, veins of young leaves sometimes with strap-shaped setae. Inflorescence terminal, 1–2(–5)-flowered. Pedicel 0.8–1.5 cm, densely scaly, scales sometimes stipitate; calyx reddish purple or pale red, 5-lobed to the base; lobes 3–9 mm, elliptic, ovate or nearly rounded, ± pubescent or glabrous; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, red or pale purple, 1–2.5 cm, outer surface scaly in the center or not scaly, densely pubescent; stamens unequal, longer than tube but shorter than corolla; filaments densely pubescent at base; ovary densely scaly, sometimes pubescent; style red, longer than stamens, glabrous or pubescent at base. Capsule ovoid, 6–8 mm. Fl. May–Jul, fr. Aug–Sep.

Xizang, Yunnan [India, Myanmar].

Rocky slopes in forests, thickets or rocky slopes in high mountains, often dominant; 3400–4600 m.

Rhododendron calostrotum is a species of flowering plant in the genus Rhododendron native to Tibet, south-central China, and Myanmar. Its putative subspecies Rhododendron calostrotum subsp. keleticum, called the beautiful-covering rhododendron, and its cultivar 'Gigha' have both gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.