ERICACEAE. — RHODODENDRON 517 
David. II. 90) (1888). — Hemsley & Wilson in Kew Bull. Mise. 
Inform. (1910) 114. 
Rhododendron costulatum Franchet in Jour. de Bot. IX. 309 (1895). 
Western Szech’uan: Mupin, thickets, alt. 2000-2600 m., October 
1908 (No. 1195, in part; bush 2 m. tall); Ching-chi Hsien, Ta-hsiang- 
ling, thickets, alt. 2000-2600 m., October 1908 (No. 1195, in part; 
bush 1.5 m. tall); Ching-chi Hsien, Ta-hsiang-ling, alt. 1600-2000 m., 
May and November 1908 (No. 11979; bush 1-2 m. tall, flowers yellow); 
west and near Wén-ch’uan Hsien, thickets, alt. 2000-2600 m., July 
and September 1908 (No. 1199; bush 1-2 m. tall); Wa-shan, wood- 
lands, alt. 2000 m., June and October 1908 (No. 1345; bush 2.5-3 m. 
tall, flowers yellow); south-east of Tachien-lu, thickets, alt. 2000- 
2600 m., October 1910 (No. 4277; bush 2.5-4 m. tall); without pre- 
cise locality, alt. 2600-3000 m., May 1904 (Veitch Exped. 3939); 
without locality, A. Henry (No. 8862). 
This species is very common in thickets and margins of woods fully exposed to 
the sun, and is one of the earliest of all the Rhododendrons to open its flowers. 
It varies considerably in the size and texture of the leaves, and in the number of 
theflowers andstamens. With the material before us we cannot maintain Franchet’s 
R. costulatum as a distinct species or even as a variety. The leaves are always 
long-acuminate; the inflorescence is normally lateral and one-flowered, but occa- 
sionally two or more flowers develop in each fascicle. 
Sect. 4. LEPIDOTA Maxim. 
Flowers from terminal buds; corolla campanulate or funnelform, rather large, 
4 cm. diam.; smaller in R. Hanceanum. Leaves sparingly lepidote, sometimes 
hairy, 2-7 em. long, rarely only 1 em. long. 
Group a. 
Leaves only lepidote. Flowers yellow. 
Rhododendron Hanceanum Hemsley in Jour. Linn. Soc. XXVI. 
24 (1899). — Hemsley & Wilson in Kew Bull. Misc. Inform. 1910, 
Western Szech'uan: Mupin, cliffs and thickets, alt. 2600-3000 
m., June and September 1908 (Nos. 3413, 882; bush 1 m. tall, flowers 
clear yellow); Ching-chi Hsien, rocky places, alt. 2800-3000 m., 
September 15, 1908 (No. 882°; bush 1 m. tall, forming thickets); 
eg alt. 2600-3000 m., October 1910 (No. 4255; bush 30-90 cm. 
