Rhododendron leptocarpum Nutt.

Shrubs, evergreen, usually epiphytic, 0.9–2(–3) m tall; branchlets scaly, otherwise glabrous. Petiole 5–10 mm, densely scaly; leaf blade leathery, narrowly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, oblong-obovate, 3–8 × 1.5–3.6 cm; base cuneate or obtuse; apex obtuse or rounded, mucronate; abaxial surface pale, glaucous, scales dense, 0.5–1.5 × their own diameter apart, unequal, small to large, brown, sunk in pits; adaxial surface bright green, scaly or glabrous. Inflorescence (3–)5–10(–11)-flowered. Pedicel thin, flexuous, 2–4 cm, in fruit to 5 cm, scaly; calyx lobes 2–5 mm, ovate to rounded, reflexed in fruit, persisting to enclose mature capsule, scaly; corolla broadly campanulate or rotate-campanulate, yellow, 0.9–1.4 cm, tube 4–7 mm, outer surface scaly, inner surface pilose; stamens 10, filaments pubescent near base or ± apex; ovary densely scaly; style stout, sharply bent, short, scales at base or absent. Capsule narrowly cylindric or sickle-shaped, 12–16 mm, scaly. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

S Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, NE India, NE Myanmar, Sikkim].

Mixed forests, cliff ledges, rocks, sometimes epiphytic; 2400–3400 m.