Rhododendron aganniphum Balf.f. & Kingdon-Ward

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron aganniphum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-aganniphum/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

Genus

Synonyms

  • Rhododendron vellereum Tagg

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
corolla
The inner whorl of the perianth. Composed of free or united petals often showy.
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
Tibet
Traditional English name for the formerly independent state known to its people as Bod now the Tibet (Xizang) Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China. The name Xizang is used in lists of Chinese provinces.
acute
Sharply pointed.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
article
(in Casuarinaceae) Portion of branchlet between each whorl of leaves.
campanulate
Bell-shaped.
cordate
Heart-shaped (i.e. with two equal lobes at the base).
discoid
Flat and circular.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
hybrid
Plant originating from the cross-fertilisation of genetically distinct individuals (e.g. two species or two subspecies).
included
(botanical) Contained within another part or organ.
indumentum
A covering of hairs or scales.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
obtuse
Blunt.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
petiole
Leaf stalk.
rachis
Central axis of an inflorescence cone or pinnate leaf.
stigma
(in a flower) The part of the carpel that receives pollen and on which it germinates. May be at the tip of a short or long style or may be reduced to a stigmatic surface at the apex of the ovary.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.
synonym
(syn.) (botanical) An alternative or former name for a taxon usually considered to be invalid (often given in brackets). Synonyms arise when a taxon has been described more than once (the prior name usually being the one accepted as correct) or if an article of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature has been contravened requiring the publishing of a new name. Developments in taxonomic thought may be reflected in an increasing list of synonyms as generic or specific concepts change over time.
variety
(var.) Taxonomic rank (varietas) grouping variants of a species with relatively minor differentiation in a few characters but occurring as recognisable populations. Often loosely used for rare minor variants more usefully ranked as forms.
xerophytic
(of a plant) Growing in arid (xeric) habitats.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron aganniphum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-aganniphum/). Accessed 2024-03-19.

Shrub, 0.3–3 m. Leaves 4–12 × 2–5 cm, elliptic to broadly ovate-lanceolate, apex more or less acute; lower surface covered with a one-layered compacted to spongy tomentum that is continuous, or splitting and becoming patchy, and composed of ramiform hairs that are whitish or yellowish at first, sometimes turning deep reddish brown; petioles tomentose at first, later glabrescent. Flowers 10–20, in a dense truss; calyx 0.5–1 mm, lobes rounded; corolla white, often flushed pink, with purple flecks, campanulate, nectar pouches lacking, 30–35 mm; ovary and style glabrous. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution  China SE Tibet, NW Yunnan, SW Sichuan

Habitat 3,350–4,550 m

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

Taxonomic note The two varieties merge into one another, even within a single population. However, those forms occurring at the highest altitudes are generally referable to var. aganniphum. Plants from the Western edge of the range of the species have a silvery, more or less agglutinated indumentum and have been referred to R. doshongense, an apparently slight difference not meriting formal recognition of this species. R. aganniphum hybridizes with R. phaeochrysum and with R. proteioides in the wild. The latter hybrid has been called R. bathyphyllum. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

An evergreen shrub 2 to 8 ft high in the wild, sometimes a small tree up to 15 ft high; young stems stout, glabrous or almost so. Leaves thick and leathery, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, oblong-lanceolate, or oblong-ovate, 2 to 412 in. long, 34 to 2 in. wide, acute or obtuse at the apex, base rounded, obtuse or slightly cordate, dark green and glabrous above, lower surface coated with a close, continuous, often rather spongy felt with a glossy skin, varying in colour from silvery white to fawn or pale yellow; petiole 38 to 34 in. long, glabrous. Flowers twelve to twenty in a fairly dense truss, opening in April; rachis up to 58 in. long; pedicels 38 to 112 in. long, glabrous or slightly floccose. Calyx very small. Corolla varying from white to rose, spotted with crimson, five-lobed, funnel-campanulate to cup-shaped, up to 2 in. across. Stamens ten, downy at the base. Ovary glabrous, conoid; style glabrous, with a discoid stigma. Bot. Mag., n.s., t. 147. (s. and ss. Taliense)

R. aganniphum has a wide distribution, from the Muli region of S.W. Szechwan through N.W. Yunnan to the Tibetan side of the Assam Himalaya; discovered by Kingdon Ward in 1913 on the Doker La (Mekong-Salween divide) and introduced by him in the same year. The type of R. vellereum, here included in R. aganniphum, was collected, also by Ward, in Tibet above the Tsangpo river, near Nang Dzong, in the transition zone where forest and alpine scrub gives way to xerophytic vegetation. The flower truss figured in the Botanical Magazine is from a plant raised from KW 5656, the original introduction, collected in the same area, where 40° F. of frost is not uncommon in winter. Seeds sent later by Ludlow and Sherriff are also from this part of Tibet. R. aganniphum is quite a pretty rhododendron but flowers too early for most gardens. In some forms the leaf-indumentum is remarkably thick and spongy.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

The synonym R. vellereum should be deleted, this species being included in R. principis (q.v. in this supplement). Nevertheless, if R. vellereum really represents R. principis, which is known only from a single collection, it is not altogether clear why the type of R. aganniphum should not suffer the same fate. In this connection, see the remarks by Cowan and Davidian in the article accompanying Bot. Mag., n.s., t.147 (as R. vellereum).

The description of R. aganniphum on page 590 is based mainly on plants cultivated as R. vellereum, but could really do duty for the typical variety of R. aganniphum, except that there the leaves are relatively broader (length:breadth ratio 1.7–2.5(2.8):1 against 2.7–3.6:1 in R. principis (Rev. 2, pp. 354, 358). However, the Edinburgh revision widens the scope of R. aganniphum, including in it:

var. flavorufum (Balf.f. & Forr.) Chamberlain R. flavorufum Balf.f. & Forr. – Leaf indumentum pale at first but eventually deep red-brown and becoming patchy. Linked to var. aganniphum by intermediates (Rev. 2, p. 355).

In the revision the following are placed in the synonymy of var. aganniphum: R. schizopeplum, R. fissotectum and R. glaucopeplum Balf.f. & Forr.; and R. doshongense Tagg. But of these, all except R. glaucopeplum are really intermediate between it and var. flavorufum, judging from the original descriptions.

R. aganniphum, in the broad sense, is of wide distribution at high altitudes from south-east Tibet through north-west Szechwan to south-west Szechwan, and must be very common, judging from the number of seed-collections by Forrest and Rock. The best forms are of about the same garden value as R. principis.


var. aganniphum

Synonyms
R. doshongense Tagg
R. glaucopeplum Balf.f. & Forrest
R. schizopeplum Balf.f. & Forrest

Indumentum remaining pale and intact at maturity.


var. flavorufum (Balf.f. & Forrest) D.F.Chamb.

Synonyms
R. flavorufum Balf.f. & Forrest

Indumentum turning deep brown and splitting, becoming patchy at maturity. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

RHS Hardiness Rating: H6