''Rhododendron simiarum'', the South China rhododendron, is one of the many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the genus ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

'', which mainly grows in Southern China. The species has also developed a habitat in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, being one of the six native species of rhododendrons grown in Hong Kong, commonly found in the slopes of Ma On Shan, and

Lantau Island Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao or Lan Tau) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located west of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the ...

. It is also distributed in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang.

Description

It grows as a bushy shrub or small tree, typically , but can be as tall as . The bark is grey in color, exfoliating into thin, small, irregular flakes. The young shoots are densely covered with

tomentose Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

grey hairs, later becoming hairless. The branchlets are grey tomentose when young, with those more than one year old glabrescent. The flowers bloom from April to early May, having up to 4 to 6 clustered flowers at the top of branches, each funnel-shaped, pink with red spots at first, but turning lighter when fully opened, ranging from white to dark pink.

References

simiarum Endemic flora of China Flora of Hong Kong Flora of China Taxa named by Henry Fletcher Hance {{Ericaceae-stub