Vasilis Teodoridis:
Apiaceae | Rhododendron
490. Rhododendron farrerae Sweet; Brit. Fl. Gard. ser. 2; 1: t. 95. 1831.
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Shrubs; deciduous; 1.5–3 m tall; branches short and firm; ferruginous-villous; glabrescent. Petioles ca. 2 mm; densely ferruginous-pubescent; leaf blade subleathery; ovate; 2–3(–5.5) x 1–2 cm; base rounded; margin ciliate; apex obtuse; mucronate; midrib glabrous; or coarse ferruginous-strigose on both surfaces at base. Inflorescence terminal; 1- or 2-flowered; flowers opening before leaves. Pedicel ca. 0.6 cm; to 1 cm and curved in fruit; densely red-brown-pubescent or villous; calyx inconspicuous; lobes densely ferruginous villose; corolla rotate-funnelform; lilac-purple; with purple-red flecks; 2–3 x 3.8–5 cm; tube short; narrowly cylindric; lobes spreading; margin undulate; glabrous; stamens 8–10; unequal; shorter than corolla; filaments glandular-hairy below; ovary ovoid; densely red-brown-villous; style curved; glabrous. Capsule cylindric; ca. 10 mm; densely ferruginous-pubescent. Fl. May–Jun; fr. Jul–Aug.
Dense mountain forests; 800–2100 m. Chongqing; Fujian; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hunan; Jiangxi.
Rhododendron cinereoserratum is better treated as a synonym of R. farrerae; not of R. mariesii as was given in FRPS (57(2): 372. 1994).