''Rhododendron cinnabarinum'' (朱砂杜鹃) is a

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

native to eastern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

, southeastern

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, and southwest

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, where it grows at altitudes of . It is a straggling

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

shrub that grows to in height, with leathery leaves that are broadly elliptic, oblong-elliptic to oblong-lanceolate or ovate, 3–6 by 1.5–2.5 cm in size. The flowers are yellow to cinnabar red, sometimes ranging to plum colors.

References

* "''Rhododendron cinnabarinum''", J. D. Hooker, ''Rhododendr. Sikkim-Himalaya''. 1: t. 8. 1849. File:Rhododendron_cinnabarinum_bush.jpg, A Rhododendron bush File:Rhododendron cinnabarinum flowers.jpg, Close-up of flowers File:Rhododendron cinnabarinum green leaves.jpg, Close-up of leaves cinnabarinum Plants described in 1849 Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker {{Ericaceae-stub