Rhododendron micranthum

Description with 20 photos. Photo: Finn Bertelsen. Slender and open built evergreen shrub. Hardy. Leaves are changed simultaneous with the flowering. Young shoots and flowerstalks scattered scaly and puberulent, with crimson tinged upper sides and green lower sides. Petiole to 8 mm. Leaf blade oblanceolate, lanceolate or narrow elliptical, slightly aromatic (citrus?), to 50×15 mm. Apex obtuse, with mucro. Leaf base cuneate or acute. Adaxial side medium green, scattered scaly, with in part puberulent midrib. Scales 1-4 x their diam. apart, 140-240 micrs. in diam. Abaxial side light grey green, densely scaly. Scales overlapping to 1x their diam. apart, rather uniform, 230-310 micrs. in diam. Inflorescence from terminal or – less developed – from subterminal buds forming a semiglobular raceme, with 20+ flowers. Rachis to 15 mm. Pedicel scaly, 13-16 mm. Calyx with 5 lobes. Lobes triangular, densely scaly, ciliate, c. 1.5 mm. Corolla with 5 lobes, rotate-campanulate, white, c. 10 mm. in diam. Lobes lingulate, externally with brown scales. Tube externally puberulent at base. Ovary ovoid, green, densely scaly, with 5 loculi, c. 2 mm. Stamens 10, uniform with white filaments 5-6 mm and with brown anthers, 1.2 mm. Style glabrous, straight, shorter than stamens, white 4-5 mm with crown-shaped, purple, 0.3 mm. Capsule scaly, cylindrical, 5-6 mm. Seeds  with small floating appendages and without wings, 0.8-1.4 mm. Localty of origin: Unknown. Native habitat: Northern China, also Henan, Hubei, Sichuan (and Korea) at 1000-3000m according to Flora of China.