THE CHINESE RHODODENDRONS 
163 
fruticetum at Les Barres, last July. The pic- 
ture gives a good idea of the plant, which is 
of free growth and is described by Dr. Henry 
(whose Christian name it bears) as anything 
from 4 to lo feet in height. The leaves 
vary from to 4 inches in length and are 
always more or less lanceolate. The flowers, 
each about 2^ inches across, vary in colour 
from white to pink and pale purple. The widely 
spread corolla with its wavy margins and soft 
colouring makes this one of the most attrac- 
tive of the Chinese species. It is a common 
shrub throughout the mountains of Western 
China to the frontiers of Thibet, covering the 
cliffs which bound the river gorges with ver- 
dure and colour. 
R. auricidatum. — A native of the Patung 
district in the province of Hupeh, this plant, 
like so many others from the same region, was 
first discovered by Dr. Henry and has since 
been introduced by Messrs. Veitch. It is appar- 
ently one of the most distinct of the new Chinese 
species. Dr. Henry describes it as of bushy 
habit though it is said to reach from 10 to 30 
feet in height, with leathery, oblong leaves 4 ; 
to 9 inches in length. The apex of each leaf 
is rounded, with a pointed tip, and the base 
protruded at each side of the hairy stalk into 
a distinct lobe. The white or rosy-pink flowers 
are very fine, funnel-shaped, 3 inches deep 
and 4^ inches wide at the mouth. Mr. E. H. 
Wilson regards this as oneof themostbeautiful 1 
of Chinese Rhododendrons. 
R. Championed. — Although this species was 
discovered in Hong Kong as long ago as 1 849, 
it has always been a rare plant, though it has 
several times flowered at Kew. It is said to 
grow about 7 feet high and is remarkable in 
that the young shoots, leaves, and flower and 
leaf-stalks, are all thickly surfaced with bristly 
hairs. The flowers are borne in clusters of 4 
to 6 together, each flower being 3^ inches 
across and bright pink. The species is very 
distinct and handsome, and it is a pity that it 
does not thrive under cultivation so well as 
the majority of Rhododendrons. Being tender, 
it requires cool greenhouse treatment. 
R. ciliicalyx. — A well-marked group of the 
Asiatic Rhododendrons is characterised by 
bristly-hairy leaves and white flowers. R.for- 
?nosum and R. ciliatum of the Himalayan region 
are well-known members of this group, and 
to it also belongs R. ciliicalyx., a native of the 
mountains of Yunnan, although in this case 
the bristles are confined to the stalk. It was 
discovered by the Abbe Delavay who sent it 
to Paris, whence it reached Kew and flowered 
there five years ago. It is a very handsome 
plant, the flowers being fully 4 inches across, 
white, flushed with rose. As many as ten are 
borne in a cluster, making a very fine display. 
The species is distinguished by the long bristles 
on the calyx, but it is nearly allied to the 
Himalayan R. formosum. At Kew it is grown 
in an unheated greenhouse, but may possibly 
prove hardy. 
R. decorum. — Whilst it is not easy to fix on 
any character todistinguish thisRhododendron 
from i?. Fortunei., it is none the less very difi'erent 
and vastly inferior. The habit of cultivated 
plants is sparse and ungainly, nor does it flower 
so freely as R. Fortunei though its blossoms 
are equally fragrant and the corolla has seven 
divisions instead of the usual five. Its foliage 
is striking, the leaf measuring 9 inches by 4, 
; and being peculiarly thick and rigid in texture; 
thecolourisgrey-green with a distinctmetallic 
lustre. As the old writers used to say, it is a 
plant for " the gardens of the curious." 
R. Delavayi. — The close relation of many 
of the Chinese and Himalayan species is seen 
in this plant, which is allied to R. arboreum — 
I the first of the Himalayan species to be grown 
in gardens. R. Delavayi is found in Yunnan 
at a height of 8,000 feet, and is likely there- 
fore to prove hardy in many parts of Britain. 
It flowered for the first time last year with Mr. 
Thomas Acton of Kilmacurrough, Co. Wick- 
low, whose garden is admirably suited to the 
more delicate Rhododendrons. The leaves are 
3 to 6 inches long, dark glossy green above, 
and covered beneath with a pale red tomentum. 
The flowers are borne in a compact rounded 
head as in R. arboreum ; they are 2 inches in 
diameter and dark red. 
R.Fordii. — Though less showy in character, 
thiskind is distinct and not unattractive. There 
is a good stock of it at Kew and it has flowered 
there. Itwasfoundbyacollectorof Mr. C. Ford, 
latesuperintendent of the Hong Kong Botanic 
Garden, on the Lantao Island, Kwantung, 
China. The leaves are obovate, with broadly 
