• Scientific Name: Rhododendron molle (Blume) G.Don
• Ref: Gen. Hist. 3:846. 1834
• Synonyms:
  • Azalea mollis Blume
  • A. sinensis G.Lodd.
  • Rhododendron davisii Koehne
  • R. sinense Sweet
• English Common Name: Chinese azalea
• Chinese Common Name: 羊踯躅 yáng∙zhízhú, 黄杜鹃 huáng∙dùjuān, 闹羊花 nàoyáng∙huā, 羊不食草 yáng∙búshí cǎo
• Japanese Common Name: トウレンゲツツジ [唐蓮華躑躅] tōrengetsutsuji
• Family: Ericaceae
• Genus: Rhododendron
• Distribution: Pinus forests, thickets on mountain slopes, exposed grassy hillsides, ridges; near sea level to 2500 m. Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang.
• Photo: Zhejiang

Shrubs, 0.5–2 m tall; branches densely gray-white-pubescent, also sparsely setose when young. Petiole 2–6 mm, puberulent and ± setose; leaf blade papery, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 5–11 × 1.5–3.5 cm; base cuneate; margin ciliate; apex obtuse and mucronate; abaxial surface densely gray-white-pubescent, yellow-brown setose along midrib; adaxial surface sparsely to densely puberulent when young. Inflorescence terminal, racemose-umbellate: flowers opening before or with the leaves; many-flowered. Pedicel 1–2.5 cm, pubescent and sparsely setose; calyx lobes small, rounded, pubescent and setose-ciliate; corolla broadly funnelform, yellow or golden yellow, with dark red flecks on lobes, ca. 4.5 × 5–6 cm; tube cylindric, tapering towards base, ca. 26 mm wide, outer surface puberulent; lobes 5, elliptic or ovate-oblong, ca. 2.8 cm, puberulent on outer surface; stamens 5, unequal; filaments flat, puberulent below; ovary conical, ca. 4 mm, densely gray-white-pubescent, also sparsely setose; style to 6 cm, glabrous. Capsule conical-cylindric, 5-ribbed, 25–35 mm, puberulent and sparsely setose. Fl. Mar–May, fr. Jul–Aug. (Flora of China)