• Scientific Name: Rhododendron championiae Hook.
• Ref: Bot. Mag. 77:t.4609. 1851
• Synonym: Azalea championiae (Hook.) Kuntze
• Chinese Common Name: 刺毛杜鹃 cìmáo dùjuān
• Family: Ericaceae
• Genus: Rhododendron
• Distribution: Open valley forests, mountain slopes; 500–1300 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang.
• Photo: 04/28/2016, Zhejiang

Shrubs, 0.5–5 m tall; branches pubescent, also spreading glandular-setose. Petiole 12–17 mm, densely glandular-setose; leaf blade papery, elliptical, oblong-lanceolate or ovate, 7–17.5 × 2–5 cm; base cuneate, rarely subrounded; margin densely long setose, also with a few glandular hairs; apex acuminate; abaxial surface pubescent and setose, with more setae on midrib and lateral veins; adaxial surface sometimes bullate, sparsely short setose. Inflorescence subapical, 5–7-flowered, rachis 4–7 mm, glabrous; flower buds sticky. Pedicel ca. 2 cm, to 2.5 cm in fruit, pubescent and glandular-setose; calyx lobes narrow, to 12 mm, densely ciliate; corolla narrowly funnelform, white or reddish, 5–6(–7) cm; lobes oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 2.8–3.5 cm; stamens 10, unequal, shorter than corolla, filaments slender, pubescent below middle; ovary oblong, ca. 6 mm, densely yellowish brown setose; style longer than stamens, exserted, glabrous to sparsely pubescent near the base. Capsule cylindric, 6-grooved, slightly curved, up to 55 mm, densely gland-tipped setose and pubescent. Fl. Apr–May, fr. Jul–Nov. (Flora of China)

04/28/2016, Zhejiang

04/28/2016, Zhejiang