Rhododendron anthopogon D. Don

Small shrubs, often prostrate or decumbent, (0.3–)0.5–1 (–1.5) m tall; branchlets loose, intricate, scaly, sparsely setose; bud scales deciduous. Petiole 3–8 mm, scaly; leaf blade aromatic, obovate-elliptic, ovate, rarely orbicular, (1.5–)2.5–3.5 (–4) × 1–1.6(–2.5) cm; base rounded; apex obtuse or rounded, mucronate; abaxial surface scales overlapping, dark reddish brown and dark yellow-brown, arranged in 2–3 tiers, often those of the lowest tier darker than rest; adaxial surface dark green, shiny, usually sparsely scaly. Inflorescence 4–6(–9)-flowered. Pedicel 0.2–0.4 cm, scaly; calyx lobes 3–5(–6) mm, elliptic or oblong, persisting to enclose mature capsule, scaly, margin densely ciliate; corolla narrowly tubular-funnelform, pink, or yellowish white, tube 6–12 mm, outer surface not scaly; inner surface densely pilose; lobes spreading, 1.2–2 cm; stamens (5–)6–8(–10), included in corolla tube, filaments glabrous; ovary ca. 1 mm, scaly; style short, thick, straight, as long as ovary, glabrous. Capsule ovoid, 3–5 mm, scaly. Fl. Apr–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

S Xizang [Bhutan, N India, Nepal, Sikkim].

Thickets, open slopes, hillsides, cliff ledges; 3000–4500(–5000) m.

Rhododendron anthopogon, the dwarf rhododendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, native to Pakistan, the Himalayas, Tibet, and Myanmar. It is used to make an essential oil. Its habitats include open slopes, thickets, hillsides, and cliff ledges.