Tan. 5317. 
RHODODENDRON FULGENS. 
Brilliant Rhododendron. 
Nat. Ord. Ericem.—DeEcaNpDRIA MonoGynlia. 
Gen. Char. (Vide supra, TaB. 3825.) 
RHODODENDRON fulgens ; ramulis petiolis pedunculis foliisque superne glaber- 
rimis, foliis petiolatis late obovato- v. ovato-ellipticis apice rotundatis basi 
cordatis margine recurvo subtus dense floccoso-tomentosis brunneis, capi- 
tulis densifloris, pedicellis brevibus, calyce obsoleto v. disciformi, corolla 
campanulata intense sanguinea, limbi lobis 5 rotundatis recurvis, stamini- 
bus 10 filamentis glabris, ovario conico basi turgido 6—8-loculari. 
RHODODENDRON fulgens. J. Hook. Sikkim Rhododendrons, t. 25. 
Of all the magnificent series of Rhododendrons which have 
reached us from India, none can vie in colour with the subject 
of the present Plate, which, from the gorgeous hue of its blos- 
soms, received the name of fwlgens from its discoverer, Dr. 
Hooker, who says of it, “'This, the richest ornament of the 
Alpine regions (of the Sikkim-[imalaya), in the month of June 
forms a very prevalent shrub, on mountain slopes and spurs, at 
an elevation of 12,000 to 14,000 feet, flowering in June, and 
fruiting in November and December ; not yielding in abundance 
to its associates, R. eruginosum (a variety of Lilacinum) and &. 
Maddeni, and, like the former, putting forth young leaves of a 
beautiful verdigris-green colour. The foliage is perennial, of a 
bright-green hue, and gives a singular hue to the bleak snowy 
mountain-faces, immediately overhung by the perpetual snow, 
contrasting in August with the bright scarlet of the Barberry, 
the golden-yellow of the fading Birch and Mountain-Ash, the 
lurid green of the Juniper, and the brown of the withered grass. 
Whether, then, for the glorious effulgence of its blossoms, which 
appear to glow like fire in the few sunny hours of the regions it 
inhabits, or the singular tint its foliage assumes at other seasons, 
JUNE Ist, 1862. 
