''Rhododendron pulchrum'' (锦绣杜鹃), also identified as ''Rhododendron'' × ''pulchrum'', 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 ...

endemic to

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 ...

. It grows as a semi-

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, in height, with leathery leaf blades, elliptic-oblong to elliptic-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

or oblong-oblanceolate, 2–5(–7) × 1–2.5 cm in size. The flowers are rose-purple with dark red flecks. Hirsutum describes it as "a natural hybrid; seed × pollen= ''R. mucronatum'' var ''mucronatum'' × ''R. indicum'' var ''formosanum''".

Synonyms

* ''Rhododendron indicum'' var. ''pulchrum'' (Sweet) G. Don * ''Rhododendron indicum'' var. ''smithii'' Sweet * ''Rhododendron phoeniceum'' f. ''smithii'' (Sweet) E.H. Wilson

References

* Brit. Fl. Gard. ser. 2, 2: t. 117. 1831. pulchrum {{Ericaceae-stub