244 BALFoUR—NEW SPECIES OF RHODODENDRON. 
puberula congesti; inflorescentiae alabastra globosa; bracteae 
externae ovatae vel late ovatae obtusae carinatae fulvae cori- 
aceae extus lepidotae margine minute albido-ciliatae ; pro- 
phylla parva claviformia calyce breviora ciliata; pedicelli 
breves ad 1.5 mm. longi lepidoti. Calyx parvus circ. 2 mm. 
longus fere ad basim fissus lobis imbricatis subrotundatis vel 
subellipticis subtruncatis viridibus extus sparsim lepidotis intus 
adpresso-puberulis ciliatis. Corollae tubus circ. I cm. longus 
angustus circ. I.5 cm. diam. paullo curvatus extus glaber intus 
villosulus, limbi explanati discus circ. r mm. latus, lobi circ. 3mm. 
lati subrotundati leviter crenulati. Stamina 5 circ. 4 mm. longa 
filamentis complanatis deorsum paullo dilatatis supra basim 
leviter puberulis antheris oblongis. Ovarium ovoideum 5- 
lobatum squamis contiguis parvis dense lepidotum ;_ stylus 
clavatus ovario paullo brevior stigmate 5-lobato coronatus. 
Species lediformis ex affinitate Rh. cephalanthi, Franch. foliis 
parvis angustis, perulis deciduis, prophyllis calyce brevioribus, 
inflorescentiae rhachi puberula, pedicellis brevibus lepidotis, 
corolla extus glabra, staminum filamentis puberulis, stylo quam 
ovarium paullo breviore notata. 
Yunnan. Mountains in the N.E. of the Yangtze bend. 
Alt. 13;000 fti'. Lat.°27°-45'-N, «Shrub of 2 #. In fruit. 
Flowers? Open stony pastures. G. Forrest. No. 11,246. 
Sept. 1913. 
This species of the Cephalanthum series is one of the narrow- 
leavyed forms with twiggy shoots on which the leaf-bud scales 
do not persist. Its nearest ally is Rh. sphaeranthum, Balf. f. 
et W. W. Sm., known from the Fengkow Pass, which has flowered 
in cultivation. Rh. ledoides is also in cultivation but I have 
not heard that it has flowered: In width of foliage Rh. ledoides 
seems to be somewhat variable. Most of Forrest’s specimens 
have quite narrow leaves, and the fruit trusses nestling amidst 
the twigs recall strongly the features seen in Ledum. One 
specimen shows the foliage larger and broader, and it might 
pass at sight for Rh. sphacranthum But analysis brings out 
characters which sufficiently differentiate the two plants. 
Differentiating marks in Rh. ledoides are: the bracteoles shorter 
not very much shorter. 
With Rh. vadinum, Balf. f£. et W. W. Sm., another lediform 
species of the Cephalanthum series, our species has also resem- 
blance, but Rh. radinum has persistent not deciduous leaf-bud 
