Tab. 8659. 

 RHODODENDRON decorum. 



Western China. 



Ericaceae. Tribe Rhodoreae. 

 Rhododendron, Linn. ; Benth. et Hook. f. Gen. Plant, vol. ii. p. 599. 



Rhododendron decorum, Franch. in Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. vol. xxxiii. p. 230 

 (1886), et in Nouv. Arch. Mus. Paris, ser. ii. vol. x. p. 45 (1888) ; Hemsl. 

 in Journ. Linn. Soc. vol. xxvi. p. 22 (1889) ; Diels in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 

 vol. xxix. p. 511 (1900) ; Bean in Flora d Sylva, vol. iii. p. 163 (1905) ; 

 Hemsl. et E. H. Wils. in Kew Bull. 1910, p. 109 ; Rehder dt E. H. Wils. in 

 Sarg. PI. Wilsonianae, vol. i. p. 541 ; Bean, Trees & Shrubs, vol. ii. 

 p. 357 (1914) ; affinis R. Fortunei, Lindl., sed foliis plerumque angustiori- 

 bus, floribus emaculatis differt. 



Frutex usque ad 5 m. altus ; raruuli robusti, glabri. Folia oblonga vel oblongo- 

 elliptica, utrinque rotundata vel basi attenuata, apice obtuse mucronata, 

 7-12 cm. casu usque ad 20 cm. longa, 2-5-5 cm. lata, rigide coriacea, 

 utrinque glabra, supra arete reticulata ; costa supra leviter impressa, infra 

 prominens, laminae apicem versus sensim attenuata; nervi laterales 

 utrinsecus 9-12, a costa sub angulo 70° abeuntes, prominenter furcati, 

 utrinque prominuli ; petioli 1-1-5 cm. longi, robusti, supra fere plani, 

 infra subcariuati. Inflorescentia circiter 10-flora, 20 cm. expansa ; 

 pedicelli robusti, 3-3-5 cm. longi, glandulis subsessilibus parce induti. 

 Calyx bene evolutus, cupularis, 2 "5-3 mm. altus, extra et margine 

 undulato parce glandulosus. Corolla alba vel leviter albo-viridis vel rosea ; 

 tubus 3 cm. longus, glaber ; limbus 8-9 cm. expansus, lobis 7 suborbicu- 

 laribus emarginatis circiter 2*5 cm. latis. Stamina 16; filamenta inferoe 

 parce puberula, usque ad 3 cm. longa; antherae vix exsertae, pallide 

 brunneae, 5 mm. longae. Ovarium 10-loculare, oblongum, glandulis sub- 

 sessilibus dense indutum; stylus exsertus, robustus, 4*5 cm. longus, 

 omnino glandulosus, stigmate capitato 4*5 mm. diametro coronatus. 

 Fructus durus, 4 cm. longus, apice circiter 1*5 cm. crassus, leviter rugosus ; 

 pedicelli fructiferi 4 cm. longi.— R. lucidum, Franch. in Journ. de Bot. 

 vol. ix. p. 300 (1895), fide Rehd. & E. H. Wils. I.e. R. vcrnicosum, Franch. 

 I.e. vol. xii. p. 258 (1898). R. Spooneri, Hemsl. et E. H. Wils. in Kew 

 Bull. 1910, p. 110.-J. Hutchinson. 



According to Mr. E. H. Wilson, Rhododendron decorum 

 is widely distributed in Western China. First introduced 

 by Delavay in 1887 through seeds from Mt. Tsong-chan, 

 Yunnan, at 6700 feet, young plants were obtained for 

 Kew from the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, in 1839. It was 

 next met with by David at Mupine in Szechuan, and 

 was found again in that region by Wilson. For a time 

 it remained rare in collections, but has now become 



May, 1916. 



