385 

 Rhododendron pachytrichum» FrancheL 



This is a shrub or small tree originally discoverod by the Abbe 

 David and introduced in 1903 from Western China by Mr. E. H- 

 Wilson, who found it as much as 20 feet high. From the older 

 hardy rhododendrons it is well distinguished by the thick coat of 

 pale brown, curly bristles that clothe the young shoots, petioles, 

 and under surface of the midrib. The leaves varj^ from narrowly 

 oblong to obovate and are 3 to 6 in. long, 1 to 2 in. wide, often 

 cuspidate at the apex, rounded to cuneate at the base, glabrous 

 above, the margins at first ciliate ; petiole ^ to 1 in. long. I do not 

 know that flowers have yet been produced in this country; pos- 

 sibly they have been in some of the gardens of the south-west. They 

 arc borne in compact trus.^es 3 or 4 in. across, and arc said to vary 

 from white to pale rose. The calyx is small, glabrous, its lobes 

 triangular; corolla campanulate, 1^ in. in diameter; stamens ten, 

 shorter than the corolla, the filaments pubescent at tlie base; ovary 

 bristly ; peduncles f in. long, bristly. Seed-A^essel 1 in. long, ^ in. 



wide, slightly bristly. 



R. pachytrichum reaches an altitude of 10,000 feet in Western 



China, and ought therefore to be able to withstaud much cold. 

 It has, however, been several times injured by late spring frosts 



at Kew. 



Rhododendronlon Przewalskii, Maximowic 





/ 



famou 



W 



introduced to cultivation by way of Petrograd. Wilsou found 

 it affain, south of Kansu, and introduced it afresh in 1904. He 



^3 



em 



anyother broad-leaved rhododendron, as distinct from the smaller- 

 leaved, lepidote ones. He found it at an altitude of 14,500 feet. 

 As represented in cultivation it is one of the dwarfest and most 

 compact of rhododendrons; in twenty years it is only 2 to 3 feet 

 high, although Wilson appears to have met with it up to 10 feet. 

 Leaves narrowly oval to obovate, 2 to 4 in. long, 1 to If in. 

 wide, cuneate to rounded at the base, acute at the apex, glabrous 

 above, usually scurfy beneath; petiole and midrib yellow, the 

 former |^ to f in. long. Flowers white or rosy pink, borne in coni- 

 j>act trusses 3 in. wide. Corolla 1^ in. across, broadly funnel- 

 shaped, five-lt'bed. Stamens ten, the filaments cither glabrous or 

 slightly pubescent near the base. The pedicels are about ^ in. 

 loiig, and, like the small, slightly lobed calyx, the ovary and the 



style, smooth. 



R. Przeiralslii is apparentl\- shy-flowering and has not yet 

 blossomed at Kew, Its very close, dwarf habit suggests that it 

 mifrht be iiseful in the hvbridiser's hands in establishii 



race. 



Rhododendron strigillosum, FrancheL 



In its general appearance this rhododendron bears a consider- 

 able resemblance to the R. pachytrichuvi previously described. 

 Like that species it is well marked by the bristly character of the 

 young shoots, petiole?' and other parts. On the shoots the bristles 



c 



