Rhododendron maddenii subsp. maddenii

Rhododendron maddenii Hook. f., Rhododendron Sikkim Himalaya 2: , pl. 18 1851. (Syn: Azalea maddenii (Hook.fil.) Kuntze; Rhododendron brachysiphon Balf. f.; Rhododendron brevitubum I.B.Balf. & Cooper (ambiguous synonym); Rhododendron calophyllum Nutt.; Rhododendron jenkinsii Nutt.; Rhododendron macranthum Griff. (ambiguous synonym); Rhododendron maddenii var. longiflorum W. Watson; Rhododendron polyandrum Hutch.);
S-Tibet, Bhutan, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Myanmar [Burma] (Chin, Kachin), NE-India as per Catalogue of Life;
 

Rhododendron maddenii (隐脉杜鹃) is a rhododendron species native to Bhutan, northern India, northeast Myanmar, Sikkim, Thailand, northern Vietnam, and southwestern China, where it grows at altitudes of 2600–3200 meters.  

It is a shrub or small tree that grows to 3–6 m in height, with leathery leaves that are lanceolate, oblong-oblanceolate, or elliptic, 5–15 by 2–8 cm in size. Flowers are predominantly white. 
(From Wikipedia on 20.4.14)
 

 

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Rhododendron maddenii

Very nice picture, beautifully composed!

 

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Rhododendron closer view : Attachments (1). 4 posts by 3 authors.
A Rhododendron- closer view . From Tang (8-9000 ft). Possibly R. grande

This is Rhododendron maddenii Hook.f. 

Certainly not R. grande –as the flowers in R. grande are not this large (compared to the leaves) and the no. of flowers per inflorescence is 20-30; the adaxial surface of the large leaves show a silvery-white sheen due to the presence of hairy outgrowths.

Also, the flowers do not look similar to R. maddenii (like the flowers of R. maddenii are very large; the style is green not coloured– one distinct feature is the crown shaped calyx at the base of the floral tube)— would be nice if we could get a side picture of the flowers.

   
 

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