! 3 E £ ® D ® ! S ® H « ® H O B A B t f B A T O f i f l , W a l l .
RHODODENDRON BARBATUM, w m .
Bristly Rhododendron.
T ab. III.
Arboreum, foliis elliptico-lanceolatis acutis basi obtusis coriaceis marginibus subrecurvis utrinque glaberrimis subtus pallidioribus supra
impresse venosis, petiolo tuberculoso longe ramulisque glanduloso-setosis, bracteis alabastrisque viseidis, floribus dense capitatis
mediocribus sanguineis, lobis calycinis foliaceis viseidis ovato-ellipticis appressis, stamimbus 10, filamentis glabris, ovarii glanduloso-
birsuti loculis 5-8.
R hododendron barbatum. Wall. Cat. no. 757. Bon, Syst. Gard. and Bot. vol. iii. p. 844. BeGamd. Prodr. vol. vii. p. 721. Kook, in Bob.
Mag. sub Tab. 4381 j in Gard. Ckron. 1848 (with a wood-cut).
H as. Gossain Than, Wattich. Summit of Tonglo, in Sikkim-Himalaya, alt. 10,000 feet. FI. April.
A tree, from forty to sixty feet high, branched from the base. Main trunks few, inclined, compressed, clothed with
reddish, papyraceous dark, destitute of Lichens and Mosses. Branches numerous, floriferous at their apices. Leaves, in
the very young state, sparingly hairy and ciliated; when fully developed, five to seven inches long, and from one and a half
to two inches and more wide, elliptical-lanceolate, acute, rather broader above the middle, the margins reflexed and rough to
the touch from the presence of minute harsh ciliae, penninerved; the nerves sunk on the upper surface, and there dull but full
green, paler and quite glabrous beneath and destitute of scales or down of every kind, but turning to an ochraceous tint when
dry. Petioles short, (half an inch) thick, somewhat tubercled and beset with long, rigid, black seiee or hairs, glanduliferous at
the point: these hairs or bristles often extend a little way up the mid-rib beneath. Flowers moderately sized, of a deep puce
or blood-colour, collected into a compact, globose head, four to five inches in diameter. Bracteas oblong or ovate, the inner
ones silky, all more or less glutinous. Calyx large, scarcely silky, deeply cut into five, erect, large, foliaceous ovate lobes,
half an inch long. Filaments ten, glabrous. Anthers short, and, as well as the nearly straight style, included. Ovary
oblong, clothed with glandular hairs. Stigma small, obtuse. Fruit setose, rich brown, included in the persistent calyx.
One of the most beautiful of the Himalayan species, and readily distinguished by the bristly petioles and young
branches. [Although in cultivation in England, at least in the Upton Nursery, Chester, of Messrs. Dickson, no coloured
figure has yet been published. The present one will serve to show what a treasure is in store for our open borders, seeing
that it has proved perfectly hardy in the Nursery above mentioned. Ed.]
T ab. III. Rhododendron barbatum, Wall, j flowering branch. 1 . Flower and bract:— natural size. 2 . Stamen. 3 . Pistil. 4 . Section of
ovary :—magnified. 5. Capsule:—natural size.