Rhododendron tephropeplum I. B. Balf. & Forrest

Shrubs, evergreen, 0.3–1.5 m tall; bark brown, peeling. Petiole 3–10 mm, scaly; leaf blade leathery, oblong-obovate, narrowly oblanceolate, to narrowly elliptic, (2–)5–7(–10) × (1–) 1.5–2.5(–4) cm; base cuneate; apex obtuse, mucronate; abaxial surface pale glaucous-green, papillose, scales ca. 0.5 × their own diameter apart, sometimes in 2 sizes, the smaller black or brown, with or without widely scattered larger scales; adaxial surface dark green, shiny, scaly. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, umbellate, 3–9-flowered. Pedicel 1–3 cm, densely scaly; calyx lobes 5–8 mm, oblong to rounded, erect or spreading, persistent in fruit, sparsely scaly, margin ciliate or not; corolla tubular-campanulate, pale or dark rose, pink, or purple, 1.5–3.2 cm; tube 11–20 mm, outer surface usually sparsely scaly; stamens 10, shorter than corolla, filaments pubescent towards base; ovary densely scaly; style slender, nearly as long as corolla, longer than stamens, scaly at base or along lower 1/2, otherwise glabrous. Capsule cylindric-ovate, 5–10 mm, densely scaly. Fl. May–Jun, fr. Jul–Aug.

SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [NE India, NE Myanmar].

Alpine meadows, rocky slopes, open stony banks, screes, cliffs; 2400–4600 m.