Rhododendron concinnum ssp. gonggaense

Description with 18 photos. Photo: Finn Bertelsen. A densely branched, in time a few meters high, evergreen shrub. Fully hardy. Young shoots reddish brown, scaly. Petiole densely scaly, puberulent in the midgroove, 5-10 mm. Leaf blade ovoid-lancet, coriaceous, aromatic, to 8 cm. Apex acuminate, with mucro. Leaf base rounded. Leaf adaxial side green, scaly with scales 1-3 x their diam. apart (scales c. 100 micrs.), and with midrib slightly hairy or not. Leaf abaxial side brownish-greyish green, densely scaly with golden brown, unequal scales, 0-1 x their diameter apart (scales 120-295 micrs.). Inflorescence a semi umbel with 2-5 flowers, from terminal or subterminal buds. Pedicel scaly, c. 10 mm. Calyx with 5 rounded lobes, scaly, c. 3 mm. Corolla with 5 rounded, triangular lobes, zygomorphic, widely funnel-shaped, externally sligtly scaly and hairy, puberulent in the throat, greenish yellow with green spotting, 45 mm wide, 15 mm deep. Ovary channeled conical, densely scaly, with 5 loculi, c. 4.5 mm. Stamens 10, unequal in length, pubescent at base. Style glabrous, longer than stamens, 25-30 mm, greenish, with upwards bent, turbinate and bullate, dark purple stigma, 1.9 mm. Capsule slightly conical, densely scaly, 9-10 mm. Seeds without wings and with tiny floating appendages, 0.8 – 0.9 mm. Locality of origin (FB8-2012): Hailougou glacier area, Sichuan, China, 3530m. Remarks: Originally described by H. Eiberg in 2008, as an intermediate form between R. ambiguum and R. concinnum  cf. http://www.rhododendron.dk/gonggaense.html.