Rhododendron hirsutipetiolatum R. C. Fang & A. L. Zhang

Shrubs, evergreen, to 5 m tall; old branches deep brown; young shoots brown, scaly, otherwise glabrous. Petiole shallowly grooved or flat, 8–12 mm, densely scaly, hispid or pubescent; leaf blade thickly leathery, oblong-elliptic, 6–8 × 2.5–3.2 cm; base cuneate to narrowly obtuse; apex acuminate; abaxial surface scales less than 1 × their own diameter apart, or contiguous small, yellowish brown, with wide margin; adaxial surface scales dense when young, caducous, midrib pubescent, raised on both surfaces; lateral veins 9-paired, slightly raised above and inconspicuous below. Inflorescence terminal, umbellate, 2–4-flowered. Pedicel stout, 0.8–1.6 cm, densely scaly; calyx rimlike or undulate, small, scales present, dense; corolla long-funnelform-campanulate, lobed to the middle, pale purplish red, inside with purple spots, 2.5–3.5 cm, outer surface densely scaly, lobes broadly ovate; stamens 10, unequal, shorter than corolla; filaments sparsely pubescent or glabrous at base; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly; style as long as corolla or stamens. Capsule not known. Fl. Apr.

Yunnan.

Abies-Rhododendron forests; ca. 3400 m.