Rhododendron suaveolens Sleumer

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New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

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

Genus

Other taxa in genus

Glossary

Credits

New article for Trees and Shrubs Online.

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

Shrub to 3 m, terrestrial or epiphytic; young stems smooth with only very inconspicuous scales. Leaves 6–10 × 3.5–7 cm, elliptic, the apex rounded or sometimes broadly pointed, margin flat with a translucent edge, base cordate to rounded; upper surface green with inconspicuous scales, the midrib weakly channelled for most of its length otherwise smooth, with a red pigmented triangular area at the base, the 5–7 pairs of lateral veins rather indistinct; the lower surface with the midrib weakly raised in the lower third, all other veins obscure, scales minute, widely spaced, brown and deeply lobed. Flowers 14–20 per umbel, erect to horizontal in disposition; calyx circular with a red edge; corolla white or pink (forma roseum) often but not always sweetly scented, trumpet-shaped, 4.5–5.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm glabrous outside; stamens 10, clustered in the mouth; ovary densely covered in silvery scales and erect white hairs, style with scattered scales at the base and white hairs in approximately the basal half. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)

Distribution  Malaysia Sabah, Kinabalu and the Crocker Range south to Mt Lotung

Habitat 1,200–1,700 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H2

Conservation status Least concern (LC)

This very attractive species although described by Professor Sleumer was later reduced by him to synonymy with R. orbiculatum. David Hunt at Kew clearly established their distinctness, this species having leaves about twice as long as wide and much narrower flowers. Royal Horticultural Society (1997)