Rhododendron tapetiforme

83. Rhododendron tapetiforme I. B. Balfour & Kingdon Ward, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh. 9: 279. 1916

Small, matted or rounded shrubs, prostrate, or up to 0.7–0.8(–0.9) m tall. Petiole 0.5–2(–3) mm, scaly; leaf blade broadly elliptic to orbicular, 0.4–1.2(–1.7) × (0.2–)0.3–0.8(–1) cm; base broadly cuneate; apex obtuse or rounded, usually not mucronate; abaxial surface scales contiguous, uniformly rufous; adaxial surface dark green, scales dense.
Inflorescence 1–3(or 4)
flowered. Pedicel 0.15–0.3 cm, scaly; calyx lobes to 1 mm, triangular to rounded, persistent in fruit, variably scaly or ciliate; corolla broadly funnelform, purple to purplish blue or rose, 1–1.6 cm, tube 3–5 mm, outer surface usually glabrous, inner surface pubescent; stamens (5–)10, long-exserted from corolla tube, filaments villous towards base; ovary 1.6–2.6 mm, densely scaly; style longer than stamens, usually glabrous. Capsule ovoid, 5–7 mm, densely scaly. Fl. Jun–Jul, fr. Jul–Sep.

Rhododendron thickets, open alpine slopes, bare screes; 3300–4800 m. SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [NE Myanmar].

Rhododendron × chamaezelum I. B. Balfour & Forrest (Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 13: 241. 1922), described from Yunnan, was considered to be a natural hybrid between R. tapetiforme and R. rupicola var. chryseum by Philipson and Philipson (Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 34: 28. 1975).