366 RHODODENDRON 



R. NARCISS^FLORUM. This Azalea has double flowers, either rosy purple 

 or white. It is not so hardy as linearifolium, and is probably a hybrid 

 between it and some form of indicum. 







R. LEPIDOTUM, Wallich. 

 (Bot. Mag., t. 4657.) 



A low, evergreen, sometimes nearly decMuous shrub, usually T to 2 ft. high 

 in this country, but said to be 4 ft. high in the Himalaya ; young wood, 

 leaves, leaf-stalk, and flower-stalks dotted thickly with minute scales. Leaves 

 oblong, i to i^ ins. long, about \ in. wide, only hairy on the margins when 

 young. Flowers rosy crimson, spotted, produced singly or a few together in 

 June, each about i in. across, flat and saucer-shaped, and borne on a stalk 

 I to i^ ins. long ; corolla-tube very short, lobes rounded. Stamens about ten, 

 hairy towards the base, not protruded ; calyx-lobes in. long, rounded. 



Native of the lofty interior ranges of the Nepal and Sikkim Himalaya, up 

 to 16,000 ft. altitude ; and in Yunnan. It is hardy at Kew, and one of the 

 most distinct and interesting of dwarf rhododendrons. Sir Joseph Hooker 

 mentions varieties with golden yellow flowers and greenish yellow flowers, 

 which do not appear to be in cultivation. Seeds are freely borne. 



R. LINEARIFOLIUM, Siebold. 

 (Azalea linearifolia, Hooker; Bot. Mag., \. 5769.) 



An evergreen, flattish shrub, 2 to 4 ft. high, with forking, often horizontal 

 branches ; the younger parts covered with bristly hairs, the young wood, 

 leaves, and flower-stalks very thickly so. Leaves crqwded at the end of short 

 twigs, narrowly linear ; 2 to 3 ins. long, usually J to ^ in. wide at the middle, 

 tapering gradually to each end. Flowers produced during May in a terminal 

 cluster of about three, the corolla having long, narrow lobes of about the 

 same shape as the leaves, and up to i ins. long, bright rosy lilac, hairy at 

 the base. The calyx has five narrow-linear lobes ^ in. long, thickly covered, 

 like the flower-stalk, with hairs ; stamens five. 



Native of Japan ; introduced by Messrs Standish, and first flowered by 

 them in 1869. It is quite hardy at Kew, and worth growing for its remarkable 

 aspect. The long narrow leaves and corolla-lobes, and the shaggy character 

 of the entire plant render it quite distinct from all other azaleas. Increased 

 by cuttings. 



R. LONGESQUAMATUM, C. K. Schneider. 

 (R. Brettii, Hemsley.) 



An evergreen bush about 10 ft. high ; young shoots clothed thickly with 

 brown, shaggy, branched hairs, which persist for two or more seasons. 

 Leaves oblong, inclined to obovate, pointed at the apex, rounded or slightly 

 heart-shaped at the base ; i\ tp 5 ins. long, i to if ins. wide ; dark green and 

 smooth except for the midrib, which is shaggy beneath like the young shoots 

 and leaf-stalks the latter about \ in. long. Flowers not seen in cultivation, 

 but described by Wilson as widely bell-shaped, 2 to 2$ ins. across, pink with 

 a dark red blotch, and produced twelve or more in a truss. Stamens ten, 

 shorter than the corolla, downy below ; calyx-lobes \ in. long, hairy. 



Native of Szechuen, China, up to 9000 ft. altitude ; discovered by Wilson, 

 and introduced in 1904. Quite hardy at Coombe Wood and Kew, and said by 

 Mr Wilson to be a very striking and handsome species, not common. The 



