Rhododendron longiflorum Lindl.

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Peter Norris, enabling the use of The Rhododendron Handbook 1998

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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron longiflorum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-longiflorum/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

Genus

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

revolute
Rolled downwards at margin.

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

Recommended citation
'Rhododendron longiflorum' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/rhododendron/rhododendron-longiflorum/). Accessed 2024-03-18.

Shrub or tree to 3 m, epiphytic or terrestrial; young twigs initially covered in brown scales. Leaves 5–12 × 2–5.5 cm, narrowly to broadly elliptic, sometimes obovate, the apex obtuse or acute and often acuminate, the margin entire and flat, the base rounded to broadly or narrowly tapering; the upper surface at first brown-scaly, quickly glabrescent, the midrib smooth or slightly depressed, lateral veins 5–8 pairs, slender, hardly raised; the lower surface with the midrib slightly raised, the lateral veins more or less smooth, the surface moderately covered with lobed to substellate scales. Flowers 3–13 per umbel, erect or semi-erect; calyx a low scaly ring; corolla orange, pink or red, often with a yellow throat, cylindrical, straight or curved, 4–5.5 × 3–6 cm, laxly scaly outside; stamens 10, spreading around the mouth of the flower; ovary densely hairy and scaly, style hairy in the lower half, glabrous towards the top. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution  Indonesia Sumatra, Borneo, Karimata Archipelago. Malaysia West, Borneo (widespread)

Habitat s.l.-1,000 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H1a

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

This is very much a lowland species although it still usually occurs on hills, and it requires more heat than most Vireyas to do well. It was confused with R. praetervisum but the leaves of this species are much more revolute, the flowers purplish pink and hanging rather than semi-erect. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)