oe 
266 BALFOUR—NEW SPECIES OF RHODODENDRON. 
on ledges of cliffs. G. Forrest. No. 13,348. Sept. 1915; in | 
fruit. No. 13,470. Oct. 1914. 
e of the most striking species in Forrest’s collection. The 
thick coriaceous leaves with the dense coating of bright rufous 
indumentum tells of a dry environment. The leaves are so 
much reflexed at the margin that only a narrow strip of the 
under-leaf surface covered with the rufous wool is visible. The 
hairs of the indumentum are much contorted and interwoven, 
and come off in bunches from a thick pedicel which swells up 
into a knob whence the branches take origin. The hairs easily 
separate from the stalk. The same kind of indumentum is 
seen in Rh. Roxieana, G. Forrest, the nearest ally of our plant, 
and there too the leaf margins are much reflexed, but the blunt 
rounded leaf apices of Rh. proteoides diagnose it readily. 
kh. proteoides is said to have canary-coloured flowers, and for 
this should be in cultivation a more desirable plant than 
Rh. Roxieanum, which has whitish and rose flowers. 
Rhododendron puralbum, Balf. f. et W. W. Sm. 
Frutex virgatus ad 4.5 m. altus. Ramuli hornotini glabri 
annotini virides ad 3 mm. lati vetustiores grisei. Alabastrorum 
parvorum circ. 8 mm. longorum oblongorum perulae inter- 
mediae firmae late ovatae apiculatae glabrae margine minutis- 
sime ciliolatae. Folia longe petiolata ad 9 cm. longa; lamina 
chartacea ad 7.5 cm. longa ad 4 cm. lata anguste oblongo-ovata 
apice subacuta rigide mucronata margine anguste cartilaginea 
plana basi truncata nec cordata supra in juventute pilis floccosis 
vel stipitatis et digitatim ramosis sparsim conspersa maturitate 
atro-viridis glabra saepe vestigia pilorum juvenilium exhibens 
obscure areolata costa media leviter sulcata venis primariis 
utrinsecus ad g impressis subtus ab initio pilis minutis brevis- 
simis caulifloris albis vel flavido-rubris praedita pallidior opaca 
costa media ad basim elevata caeteroquin laevis venarum reti 
ultimo rubro-tincto conspicuo epidermide in papillas globosas 
excreta ; petiolus ad 2.5 cm. longus eglandulosus rubro-viridis. 
Flores in umbellam 8-floram terminalem dispositi. Alabastra 
florum ignota. Pedicelli rigidi circ. 4 cm. longi glabri vel 
glandulis rubris parvis fere sessilibus paucis conspersi sub calyce 
paullo expansi. Calyx muscoso-viridis ad 8. 5 mm. longus 5- 
lobatus basi cupuliformis glandulis rubris brevissime stipitatis 
paucis conspersus lobis membranaceis venulosis inaequalibus 
maximis circ. 6 mm. longis 5 mm. latis rotundatis vel oblongo- 
rotundatis margine glanduloso-ciliatis dorso basi nunc glandu- 
losis. Corolla alba a basi late pateriformis circ. 4 cm. longa 
extus elepidota epilosa intus glabra lobis 5 brevibus circ. I. 5 cm. 
longis 3 cm. latis rotundatis undulatis subemarginatis. Stamina 
