Rhododendron taliense Franch.

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Credits

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

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

Genus

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.
apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
campanulate
Bell-shaped.
cordate
Heart-shaped (i.e. with two equal lobes at the base).
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
indumentum
A covering of hairs or scales.
lanceolate
Lance-shaped; broadest in middle tapering to point.
ovary
Lowest part of the carpel containing the ovules; later developing into the fruit.
ovate
Egg-shaped; broadest towards the stem.
petiole
Leaf stalk.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.

Credits

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

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

Shrub, 0.8–4 m. Leaves emitting a musky odour, broadly ovate-lanceolate, 5–11 × 2–4 cm, oblong-ovate to broadly lanceolate, apex acute; lower surface covered with a dense two-layered indumentum, the upper layer fulvous, lanate to tomentose, composed of ramiform hairs, the lower compacted; petioles glabrescent. Flowers 10–20, in a dense truss; calyx 0.5–2 mm; corolla white or (rarely) pale yellow, sometimes flushed with pink, with crimson flecks, funnel-campanulate, nectar pouches lacking, 30–35 mm; ovary and style glabrous. Flowering April-May. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

Distribution  China W Yunnan

Habitat 3,050–4,000 m

RHS Hardiness Rating H6

Conservation status Vulnerable (VU)

Taxonomic note Some cultivated plants have a leaf indumentum that is speckled and very shortly tomentose; in the wild the most common form has a more densely lanate indumentum. This species is allied to R. alutaceum, from which it may be distinguished by its glabrous ovary, and to R. sphaeroblastum. It apparently has a very restricted distribution, occurring only around Dali in W Yunnan. Royal Horticultural Society (1997).

An evergreen shrub up to 10 ft high in the wild, sometimes taller, with stout shoots, tomentose when young. Leaves up to 4 in. long, 34 to 112 in. wide, oblong-ovate to lanceolate, pointed at the apex, roundish to slightly cordate at the base, dark green above and glabrous when mature, underside coated with a dense, tawny felt; petiole about 12 in. or slightly more long, felted. Flowers in a compact terminal cluster of up to fifteen, opening in April or May; pedicels up to 78 in. long, densely tomentose. Calyx about 110 in. long. Corolla funnel-campanulate, about 112 in. long, creamy yellow or creamy white, often flushed with rose and marked with crimson spots, five-lobed. Stamens ten, hairy in the lower third. Ovary and style glabrous. (s. and ss. Taliense)

R. taliense was discovered by the French missionary Delavay in the Tali range, Yunnan, and described in 1886, and was introduced by Forrest from the same area in 1910, possibly earlier. A rhododendron found by Wilson in W. Szechwan, of which seed was sent in 1908, is probably R. taliense. It is a rare species in gardens and of little ornament, but as the type of the Taliense series it deserves mention. From other members of the Taliense subseries it is distinguished by the densely felted leaf-stalks and flower-stalks.