Rhododendron tephropeplum
Deleiense Group
Tephropepla subsection
H3/4
AM 1929 Bodnant, flowers pale pink
AM 1935 Townhill Park, (as R. deleiense),flowers purplish-pink
AM 1975 Sandling Park to a clone 'Butcher Wood' (KW20844)
Height: shrub 0.5-1.3m.
10 year height/spread: 0.3m/0.3m.
Flowers: pale pink through rose to purplish pink (rarely white),without spots
April/May.
Introduced: 1911 Forrest from E.Tibet
Distribution: Arunachal Pradesh,
N Burma, SE Tibet, NW Yunnan
2450 - 4300m.
Recognise by: leaf under surface glaucous often with scattered large scales as well as dense black or brown small scales; large leaf calyx; flower colour.
Epithet: 'with an ash grey covering'
The species is very variable in height and habit. Free flowering.
The Deleiense group has the largest leaves and flowers.