| English Name | Westland's Rhododendron |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Least Concern (LC) |
Description:
Evergreen shrubs or small trees, 3-8 m tall, glabrous. Leaves leathery, elliptic-lanceolate or broadly oblanceolate, 4-13 cm long and 2-4 cm wide, apex acuminate to acute, base cuneate, margin revolute; petioles 0.7-1.5 cm long, base slightly swollen. Inflorescence umbelliform, in axillary clusters near apex of branches, with 2-3(-4)-flowered; pedicel 1-2.5 cm long; corolla funnel-form, 4 cm long, white, sometimes pinkish, 5-lobed; stamens 10;style 5.5 cm long, slightly longer than stamens. Capsule cylindric, 2.5-5 cm long, slightly curved, 6-grooved.
Distribution:
Ma On Shan, Pat Sin Leng, Wu Kau Tang, Lantau Island. Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Fujian. Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia.
Habitat and Ecology:
In secondary forests. Flowering: Apr.-May; fruiting: Jun.-Jul.
The colourful flower makes it an attractive garden plant. In Hong Kong, most of the localities of its occurrence are in Country Parks under protection. The locality at Ma On Shan has also been listed as a SSSI. This species is also protected by the Forestry Regulations (Cap. 96 sub. leg.). AFCD has been actively propagating this plant. Ex-situ conservation has also been conducted and living specimens are planted in the Shing Mun Arboretum.
References:
譚沛祥，1987：廣東植物誌1：320。圖348。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
