''Rhododendron simsii'' (杜鵑) 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 nativ ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

native to

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

, where it grows at altitudes of .

Description

It is a twiggy

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 ...

or semi-evergreen shrub growing to in height, with leaves that are ovate, elliptic-ovate or obovate to

oblanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflet (bo ...

, 1.5–5 by 0.5–3 cm in size. The flowers range from white to dark red. Some varieties of ''Rhododendron simsii'' are poisonous due to the presence of

grayanotoxin Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after '' Leucothoe grayana'', a plant native to Japan originally named for 19th century American botanist Asa Gray. Grayanotoxin I (grayanotaxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is als ...

Distribution

The species is common in Hong Kong. It is also distributed in Areas south of

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

in China as well as in Vietnam and Thailand. The specific name ''simsii'' commemorates John Sims (1749-1831) who was the first editor of "Magazine Botanique". Dictionnaire étymologique de botanique
/ref> This slightly tender species is quite rare in the west, though well known in Chinese gardens.

References

* "''Rhododendron simsii''", Planchon, ''Fl. Serres Jard. Eur.'' 9: 78. 1853–1854. 1853. simsii Flora of Hong Kong Flora of China Flora of Thailand Flora of Vietnam {{Ericaceae-stub