Rhododendron saluenense Franch.

Erect or creeping shrubs, (0.05–)0.1–1.2(–1.5) m tall; young shoots densely scaly, hispid with brown strap-shaped setae. Petiole 2–4 mm, scaly, hispid; leaf blade elliptic or oblong-elliptic or ovate-elliptic, 0.7–3 × 0.8–1.4 cm; base often rounded, sometimes broadly cuneate; apex rounded, apiculate; abaxial surface scales overlapping, brown, pale brown or yellowish green, sometimes hispid with strap-shaped setae along veins; adaxial surface densely or sparsely scaly. Inflorescence terminal, 1–3-flowered. Pedicel red, 0.7–1.5 cm, scaly, sparsely or densely hispid; calyx reddish purple, lobes 5–9 mm, broadly ovate or ovate-elliptic, persistent in fruit, with or without abaxial scales, pubescent or sometimes hispid; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, purple, purplish red or deep red, inside with purple red spots, 1.4–3 cm, outer surface scaly or not, densely pubescent; stamens unequal, longer than tube but shorter than corolla; filaments densely pubescent at base; style red, longer than corolla, pubescent or not at base. Capsule ovoid, 5–9 mm. Fl. Jun–Aug, fr. after Aug.

Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Myanmar].

Rhododendron thickets on rocky slopes, shrubby meadows on high mountains; 3000–4800 m.