Rhododendron bureavii, the Bureau rhododendron[2] (Chinese: 锈红杜鹃; 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]
| Rhododendron bureavii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific 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 | |
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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).
The indumentum on the underside of the leaves
In cultivation
