Rhododendron bureavii
| Rhododendron bureavii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae | 
| Clade: | Tracheophytes | 
| Clade: | Angiosperms | 
| Clade: | Eudicots | 
| Clade: | Asterids | 
| Order: | Ericales | 
| Family: | Ericaceae | 
| Genus: | Rhododendron | 
| Species: | R. bureavii 
 | 
| Binomial name | |
| Rhododendron bureavii | |
| Synonyms | |
  | |
Rhododendron bureavii, the Bureau rhododendron[2] (Chinese: 锈红杜鹃; pinyin: xiùhóng dùjuān),[3] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to western Sichuan and northern Yunnan, China, where it lives at altitudes of 2,800–4,500 m (9,200–14,800 ft).[3]
Growing to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub. The leathery leaves are elliptic to obovate-oblong, 6–14 by 2.5–5 cm in size. New leaf growth is covered in a fuzzy brown indumentum that remains on the underside of the mature leaves. In mid-spring, the Bureau rhododendron produces trusses of bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are pink in bud, fading to white when open, with purple spots on the interior.[4]
In cultivation in the UK, Rhododendron bureavii has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2][5] Like most rhododendrons it prefers an acid soil and dappled sunshine. It is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F).
- 
			
The indumentum on the underside of the leaves - 
			In cultivation
 
References
- ^ "Rhododendron bureavii", Franchet, Bull. Soc. Bot. France. 34: 281. 1887.
 - ^ a b "RHS Plantfinder - Rhododendron bureavii". Retrieved 2 October 2018.
 - ^ a b Linzhen, Hu; Chamberlain, David F. "Rhododendron bureavii". Flora of China. Vol. 14. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
 - ^ Brickell, Christopher, ed. (2008). The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 890. ISBN 9781405332965.
 - ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 85. Retrieved 2 October 2018.