16. 
RHODODENDRON HODGSONT, dove. yu. 
Mr. Hodgson’s Rhododendron. 
Tas. XV. 
Arborescens, ramis levibus, foliis amplis petiolatis (petiolis crassis) obovato-ellipticis obtusis basi subcordatis coriaceis glaberrimis marginibus 
recurvis late viridibus subtus tomento appresso subargenteo albido-gl tik 
capitulis magnis 15-80-floris, pedunculis brevibus 
tomentosis, calyce obsoleto, corolla rosea tubo (basi intruso) late campanulato, limbo brevi 8-lobo, lobis rotundatis aqualibus emargi- 
natis, staminibus sub-18, filamentis gracilibus glabris, ovario pube viscido dense vestito 16-loculari, stylo elongato, stigmate disciformi 
radiatim lobato, capsulis anguste cylindraceis clongatis curvatis obtusis tomentosis. 
Wan. Sikkim-Himalaya; on rocky spurs, and in the valleys of the outer and inner ranges; clev. 10-12,000 fect, very abundant. 7. May 
and June; fr. December. 
A small ¢ree, from twelve fect, the average height, to twenty, branching from the base, main branches as thick as the 
human thigh, spreading horizontally for twenty or thirty feet each way, interwoven with the adjacent plants and shrubs. 
Bark smooth, papery, pale-flesh coloured, flaking off in broad membranous patches. Wood white, very close-grained, soft, 
yet tough, neither warping nor splitting, but, in consequence of the great compression of the larger branches, rarely affording 
a sample a foot in the square. Leaf-buds or gemme terminal, as large as a hazel-nut; their scales broadly ovate, concave, 
coriaceous, subtomentose, tapering into a long acuminated point. Leaves terminal on the ultimate branches, ample, spread- 
ing, twelve to sixteen and often eighteen inches in length, varying in form, oblong-elliptical or obovate or ovate-lanceolate, 
obtuse, nearly cordate at the base, of a singularly thick coriaccous texture, quite glabrous and bright glossy green above, 
penninerved (scarcely reticulated), the margins recurved ; beneath, all, except the thickened costa, clothed with a pale silvery 
white, rarely ferruginous, closely appressed ¢omentum, but which is easily abraded by the finger, and is often itself evanescent. 
Petioles one to two inches or more long, very stout. Capitula four to six inches in diameter, of several delicate, pale purple 
or rose-coloured flowers. Peduncles short, viscid, often downy. Calyx obsolete. Corolla large, the tube an inch and a half 
long, broadly campanulate, the base depressed at the insertion upon the peduncle, the margin of the depression lobed, limb 
spreading, two to two and a half inches across, eight-lobed, the lobes rather short, emarginate, or obtusely bifid, reflexed. 
Stamens sixteen to eighteen, spreading : filaments slender, glabrous ; athers rather small, dark purple-brown. Ovary oblong- 
ovate, densely covered with a short, white, viscid ¢omentum, many-celled. Style rather short, glabrous, thickened upwards. 
Stigma a broad radiately-lobed disc. Capsules slightly curved, two inches long, cylindrical, striated, covered with a white 
loose tomentum. Seeds small, winged with a lax aril, jagged at both ends. 
This, and the Adies Webbiana, I have always regarded as the characteristic tree and shrub (or underwood) at the 
elevation of 10 to 12,000 feet in all the valleys of Sikkim. &. Hodgsoni, in this respect, ranks with the 2. arboreum and 
Campbellia, being typical of a loftier zone of Rhododendrons, succeeded by the arctic one of &. anthopogon, R. setosum, 
R. eleagnoides, and, finally, far above the ordinary limit of phanogamic vegetation, by 2. zivale, which is found at an 
elevation of 18,000 feet above the level of the sea. 
Nowhere can the traveller wander, in the limits assigned to the present species, without having his attention arrested 
by its magnificent foliage, larger than that of R. Falconeri, and remarkable for its brilliant deep green hue. In summer 
