Tas. 6450. 
RHODODENDRON tepiporum var. opovatum. 
Native of the Sikkim Himalaya. 
Nat. Ord. Ertcem.—Tribe RooporER. 
Genus Ruopopenpron, L.; (Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Pl. vol. ii. p. 599.) 
RuHopopENpDRON lepidotum, Wall. Cat. n.758; Royle, Ill. Pl. Himal. p. 260, 
t. 64, f.1; Hook. f. Sikkim Rhododendrons, pt. ii. p. 6; Bot. Mag. t. 4657. 
Var. obovatum ; foliis obovatis utrinque squamulosis. 
R. obovatum, Hook. f. Sikkim Rhododendrons, |. c. p. 6. 
The plant here figured affords an instance of the variable 
characters which the Rhododendrons display in the centre 
of their geographical distribution, the Sikkim Himalaya. 
When first studying the species in their native mountains, 
it appeared to me easy to distinguish as two well-marked 
allied species, the present plant, described as R. obovatum, 
with dark-purple flowers and short leaves, and that I 
called &. salignum in the “ Rhododendron of the Sikkim 
Himalaya” (t. 23) with lanceolate leaves and golden-yellow 
flowers. Further investigation led to the conclusion that 
neither the form and size of the leaf, nor the colour of the 
corolla, afforded any available diagnostic character ; for 
though I never found R. salignum with purple flowers, I 
found plenty of R. lepidotwm with golden-yellow ones. 
A third subject of variation is the number of stamens, 
which in almost all the wild specimens of R. lepidotum 
are eight, but in that here figured there are ten. 
The name of obovatwm was given to this form before it 
was ascertained to be conspecific with the R. lepidotum of 
Wallich, which is erroneously described in De Candolle’s 
Prodromus from very imperfect specimens. As mentioned 
under Tab. 4657, BR. obovatum is in no way specifically 
distinguishable from Wallich’s Nepalese plant, and a 
reference to the above-cited plate will show that, except 
in the larger more maroon-coloured flowers, and more 
SEPTEMBER lst, 1879. 
