Rhododendron bureavii

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Rhododendron bureavii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Rhododendron
Species:
R. bureavii
Binomial name
Rhododendron bureavii
Synonyms
  • Rhododendron bureavioides Balf. f.
  • Rhododendron cruentum H. Lév.

Rhododendron bureavii, the Bureau rhododendron[2] (Chinese: 杜鹃; pinyin: xiùhóng dùjuān),[3] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to western Sichuan and northern Yunnan, China, where it lives at altitudes of 2,800–4,500 m (9,200–14,800 ft).[3]

Growing to 2.5 m (8.2 ft) tall and broad, it is an evergreen shrub. The leathery leaves are elliptic to obovate-oblong, 6–14 by 2.5–5 cm in size. New leaf growth is covered in a fuzzy brown indumentum that remains on the underside of the mature leaves. In mid-spring, the Bureau rhododendron produces trusses of bell-shaped flowers. The flowers are pink in bud, fading to white when open, with purple spots on the interior.[4]

In cultivation in the UK, Rhododendron bureavii has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[2][5] Like most rhododendrons it prefers an acid soil and dappled sunshine. It is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F).

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Rhododendron bureavii", Franchet, Bull. Soc. Bot. France. 34: 281. 1887.
  2. ^ a b "RHS Plantfinder - Rhododendron bureavii". Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b Linzhen, Hu; Chamberlain, David F. "Rhododendron bureavii". Flora of China. Vol. 14. Retrieved 7 October 2018 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  4. ^ Brickell, Christopher, ed. (2008). The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 890. ISBN 9781405332965.
  5. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 85. Retrieved 2 October 2018.