Rhododendron oreotrephes W. W. Smith

Shrubs, 1–4 m tall; young shoots deep purplish red, sparsely scaly, otherwise glabrous or pubescent. Petiole pinkish purple, 7–13 mm, sparsely scaly, sometimes pubescent; leaf blade elliptic, oblong or ovate, 1.8–6 × 1.4–3.5 cm; base rounded to cordate, rarely broadly cuneate; apex obtuse or rounded, apiculate; abaxial surface pinkish green or green, scales contiguous, or less than (rarely more than) their own diameter apart, all similar, yellowish brown or brown; adaxial surface without scales. Inflorescence terminal or subterminal, shortly racemose, 3–5(–10)-flowered; rachis 1–8 mm. Pedicel purplish red, 0.5–2 cm, sparsely scaly; calyx undulately 5-lobed or annular, ca. 1.5 mm; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, 5-lobed to the middle, pale purple or pale red or deep purplish red, 1.8–3 cm, outer surface glabrous, lobes ovate; stamens unequal, long ones as long as or slightly longer than corolla; filaments spreading-pubescent below; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly; style glabrous. Capsule cylindric, 8–13 mm. Fl. May–Jul.

SW Sichuan, SE Xizang, N Yunnan [Myanmar].

Evergreen-deciduous mixed forests, Abies or Larix forest margins, Quercus-Rhododendron thickets; (2100–)3000–3700 m.

Rhododendron oreotrephes (山育杜鹃, shan yu du juan) is rhododendron species native to Burma and south-west China, collected in Sichuan in 1904 by Dr. Ernest Henry Wilson. It is an upright shrub, growing to 4 metres (13 ft) in height, with oblong, often bluish, leaves up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in) in length. Its flowers are pink to lavender. Fragrant leaves smell of warming spices with notes of cinnamon and pine.