Rhododendron atropunicum H. P. Yang

Small, erect shrubs, 1–1.8 m tall; branchlets with ferruginous, deciduous scales. Petiole 2–4 mm, scaly; leaf blade aromatic, elliptic, oblong-elliptic, 1–2 × 0.4–1 cm; base cuneate; apex rounded, mucronate; abaxial surface scales overlapping, arranged in 2–3 tiers, small, dark ferruginous; adaxial surface dark green, glabrous. Inflorescence 4–6-flowered. Pedicel 0.2–0.3 cm, scaly; calyx lobes 2.5–4 mm, oblong-elliptic, scaly, margin densely scaly; corolla salver-shaped, white, 0.9–1.1 cm, tube 7–8 mm, outer surface sparsely pilose, inner surface densely pilose; lobes rounded, 0.2–0.3 cm; stamens 5 or 6, included in corolla tube, filaments sparsely puberulous at base; ovary nearly ovoid, ca. 2 mm, densely scaly; style thick, straight, shorter than ovary. Fl. Jun.

SW Sichuan.

Wood margins; ca. 3600 m.