Rhododendrons, Rhododendron
spp., are a large group of flowering shrubs and trees found in East and
Southeast Asia and across Indonesia to northern Australia, and widely
introduced elsewhere as ornamentals (some species having become highly invasive
pests). They are a specious group, with over a thousand described species,
including over 570 species from China.
In a paper published in the journal Phytotaxa on 23 January 2015,
Yongpeng Ma of the Kunming Botanical Garden at the Kunming Institute of Botany
of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, David Chamberlain of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and Weibang Sun and Changqin Zhang, also of the Kunming
Botanical Garden, describe a new species of Rhododendron
from the Baili Rhododendron Nature Reserve in northwest Guizhou Province, China.
The Baili Rhododendron Nature Reserve covers about 130 km2
of highland terrain with a flora dominated by Rhododendrons. About 35 species
have previously been recorded from the reserve, but the status of many of these
is unclear, and it is thought that this total includes several hybrids. In 2013
the reserve asked for help from taxonomists at the Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh and Kunming Institute of Botany to help clarify the status of its
Rhododendrons.
The new species is named Rhododendron
bailiense, meaning ‘from Baili’. It is a small evergreen tree, reaching 3-4
m in height, with ovate leaves. It produces pale violet flowers, four cm in
diameter, in clusters of 2-8 in March and April.
Rhododendron
bailiense, inflorescence and leaf. Ma et al. (2014).
The species has only been found at two locations, on limestone karst
outcrops at altitudes of 1800 m and 2100 m. As such it is tentatively
considered to be Endangered under the terms of the International Union for theConservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, however it is possible
that larger, undiscovered populations of the plant also exist.
See also…
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