CULTIVATED SPECIES 107 



wrinkled, dark-green, rust-hairy beneath, 3-6 inches long, 

 petiole short, stout. Flowers in a crowded globose head, 

 bell-shaped, with spreading bi-lobed segments, ij inch in 

 diameter, deep crimson. Allied to R. arboreum. Tender. 



R. lacteum. China. 1889. A sturdy shrub or small 

 tree, not unlike R. Falconeri. Leaves thick, leathery, oblong, 

 12 inches or more long, brown-felted beneath. Flowers 

 in a compact truss, bell-shaped, 2 inches across, white 

 with purple blotch. Tender. 



R. lanatum. Himalaya, 13,000 feet. 1851. A large 

 shrub. Evergreen. Leaves elliptic, obtuse, 4 inches long, 

 hairy when young, becoming glabrous with age, rust-hairy 

 beneath. Flowers nodding, in a loose head, bell-shaped, 

 i inch long, yellow. Tender. 



R. lapponicum. Arctic regions. 1825. A dwarf, ever- 

 green, Myrtle-like shrub, with rigid branches and elliptic 

 leaves, J inch long, clothed with rust scales, fragrant when 

 bruised. Flowers few, in an umbel, bell-shaped, five-lobed, 

 J inch across, rosy-red, with crimson blotches. Hardy. 



R. ledifolium. China, &c. 1819. An evergreen shrub, 

 resembling R. indicum, and probably only a variety of it. 

 Leaves dull-green, hairy, closely arranged on the twiggy 

 branches. Flowers white. Used as a stock for varieties 

 of the Indian Azalea. Hardy. 



R. lepidotum. Himalaya, 15,000 feet. 1829. A strag- 

 gling shrub up to 6 feet. Evergreen. Leaves variable, 

 about J inch long, glabrous, fragrant. Flowers in twos or 

 threes on the twiggy branches, bell-shaped, yellow or purple ; 

 corolla i inch, scaly. Hardy. 



R. leptocarpum. Bhotan, 8000 feet. 1853. A slender 

 alpine branching shrub about i foot high. Evergreen. 

 Leaves oblong, glabrous, finely reticulated, 3 inches long. 



