Rhododendron yunnanense Franch.

Shrubs, rarely small trees, deciduous, semievergreen or evergreen, 1–2(–4) m tall; old branches glabrous; young shoots sparsely scaly, otherwise glabrous or pubescent. Petiole 3–7 mm, sparsely scaly, pubescent or sometimes hispid; leaf blade oblong, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or obovate, 2.5–7 × 0.8–3 cm; base narrow to cuneate; apex acuminate or acute, apiculate; abaxial surface green or gray green, scales 2–6 × their own diameter unequal; adaxial surface not or sparsely scaly, sometimes pubescent along midrib. Inflorescence terminal or subterminal, shortly racemose or umbellate, 3–6-flowered; rachis 2–3 mm. Pedicel 0.5–2(–3) cm, not or sparsely scaly; calyx rimlike or 5-lobed, 0.5–1 mm, scaly or not; corolla broadly funnelform-campanulate, white, pale red or pale purplish, inside with red, brownish red, yellow or yellowish green spots, 1.8–3.5 cm, outer surface sparsely scaly or not; stamens unequal, long ones longer than corolla; filaments ± pubescent below; ovary 5-locular, densely scaly; style longer than corolla, glabrous. Capsule cylindric, 6–20 mm. Fl. Apr–Jun.

W Guizhou, S Shaanxi, W Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Myanmar].

Mixed forests on slopes, Abies-Picea or Pinus-Quercus forest margins, thickets; (1600–)2200–3600(–4000) m.

Rhododendron yunnanense (云南杜鹃) is a species of rhododendron native to Myanmar and Guizhou, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Xizang, and Yunnan, China, where it grows at altitudes of 2200–3600 meters. It is a shrub that grows to 1–2 m in height, with leaves that are oblong, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate or obovate, 2.5–7 by 0.8–3m in size. Flowers are white, pale red, or pale purple.

In cultivation in the UK the cultivar ‘Openwood‘ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. The flowers are a pale lavender with a crimson spotted throat.