Douglas Justice, in his March in the Garden 2024 - UBC Botanical Garden blog, apologizes for writing once again about spring flowering rhododendrons, as if we already learned them all when we saw them last. As usual, there are photos of the many plants included, and interesting comments about the plants and the plant names. Here are a few. I seem to have posted Rhododendron pachytrichum before, more than once, but I still had to check that I had the right plant here, as this red colouring seems to be very rare, if my internet queries are anything to go by. It's very impressive. This one has a Rhododendron calophytum label, and has been posted as that previously, but Douglas thinks it has been mis-named. For one thing, the one just above should be flowering later than these R. calophytum var. openshawianum, which are not yet open. I had to wait to see the above two plants until the coyote took off. The Rhododendron sutchuenense are almost open. Here is Rhododendron principis, with its "thick, marshmallowy indumentum", which was not at all fuzzy.
This (below) says R. pachytrichum crosses with R. strigillosum on Omei Shan; the UBC plant appearing (without looking at details of hairs etc.) as a sort of magenta tinged version of R. strigillosum would seem consistent with such a genetic background. Otherwise, notice the general similarity of the "calophytum" being questioned to the R. sutchuenense in your pictures. Rhododendron pachytrichum - Trees and Shrubs Online Rhododendron sutchuenense - Trees and Shrubs Online
Thank you. Douglas mentioned in an email that he was "pretty sure it's R. sutchuenense/praevernum hybrid (R. x giraldii)", but then he asked me to confirm the location and I wasn't totally sure, so I didn't give the name.
Notice the relevant account I linked to ends with a paragraph within which they state that they think R. x giraldii is part of the range of variation within R. sutchuenense. So that whether or not UBCBG staff agrees with this view will affect how the involved material there is interpreted.
I'll piggy-back on my own thread with some non-rhododendron photos. The Magnolia zenii is not quite open yet - it's about a week ahead in blooming than other years when I've photographed it. But it's very showy now. Douglas Justice did a blog article featuring this critically endangered species, at April 2017 in the Garden - UBC Botanical Garden. Just across the path is Corylopsis pauciflora. The new leaves on the Petasites japonicus var. giganteus are already being eaten - it's hard to imagine how they will hold themselves together when they're half a meter in diameter. I like checking in on the Cathaya argyrophylla.
