118 BALFOUR—NEW SPECIES OF RHODODENDRON. 
crowns from which many short branches ascend. Aerial 
branches about 3 mm. in diameter the bark becoming grey and 
cracking in the third year usually. Twigs of the year very thin 
barely 1 mm. in diameter reddened finely puberulous and spar- 
ingly lepidote with white seal-like peltate scales distant or in 
groups, the scales falling from older twigs some remaining and 
blackening, the puberulousness persistent until decortication. 
Foliage-buds small ovate ; outer scale-leaves crustaceous rounded 
obtuse glabrous outside, except at the tip which is finely hair- 
ciliate, puberulous more or less inside ; innermost scale-leaves 
pale greenish or yellowish membranous spathulate-ligulate some- 
what acute carried up on elongating axis lepidote outside margin 
more or less setulose ; juvenile leaves conduplicate-convolute 
densely setulose and puberulous and with a few peltate scales 
on upper suriace, densely lepidote underneath with a puberulous 
midrib, margin densely setulose-ciliate, petiole grooved puberu- 
lous more or less lepidote and setulose-ciliate. Leaves petiolate 
as much as 4.5 cm. long; lamina thin papery lanceolate or 
oblong or nee oblong-oval as much as 4.2 cm. long 1.5 
cm. broad acute or obtuse and ending in a prominent apiculus 
with rounded Se terminal red hydathode, margin plane 
not cartilaginous regularly and finely ciliate somewhat setulose 
towards base, base cuneate tapered into the short petiole ; 
upper surface mat olive-green smooth puberulous and distantly 
lepidote and setulose, the scales white flat seal-like with broad 
umbo and narrower entire fringe intervals between scales much 
greater than diameter of scale, about 2 or 3 scales in a square 
mm., midrib reddened lepidote and setulose, primary veins very 
thin immersed reddened about 7 on each side of midrib ; under 
surface slightly paler lepidote with distant scales like the upper 
surface, esetulose and epilose except on raised reddened midrib 
which has very short hairs, primary veins and ultimate venation 
reddened ; petiole 2-3 mm. long finely puberulous sparingly 
hornotini tenues vix I mm. diam. puberuli et discontigue albo-lepidoti, annotini 
ad 3mm.diam. Folia breviter petiolata ad 4.5 cm. longa; lamina tenuis papy- 
racea lanceolata vel oblonga vel oblongo-ovalis acuta vel obtusa apiculata, margine 
plana haud cartilaginea ciliata et setulosa, basi cuneata; supra opaca olivacea 
breviora; filamenta ad basim glabra supta usque ad os corollinum puberula 
Discus puberu pes ern corolla paullo longius; ovarium cylindricum 
truncatum aut “lapidoeitig stylus Sing glaber sub stigmate discoideo lobulato 
in labium parvulum circulare expans 
