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Pink Scaly Rhododendron
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Pink Scaly Rhododendron
ative Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Pink Scaly Rhododendron • Hindi: Atarasu, Sumral, Simris, Talshi • Nepali: भाले सुनपाति Bhaale Sunpati
Botanical name: Rhododendron lepidotum    Family: Ericaceae (Blueberry family)

Pink Scaly Rhododendron is a low shrublet, growing to about a meter tall. Narrow lanceshaped leaves, 2.5-4 cm long, are densely covered with fleshy scales. Flowers are pink or purple, borne in clusters of 2 to 4, on slender stalks. Flowers are about 2-2.5 cm across, broadly tubular with 5 spreading rounded petals, scaly and glandular outside. Eight stamens protrude out of the flowers with red filaments which are hairy on the lower side. Fruit is a capsule, densely scaly, covered with persisting sepals. Flowering: June-July.
Medicinal uses: The people of Manang district, central Nepals, take the juice of the plant, believing it purifies the blood. Pounded leaves are boiled in water and spread on cots, beds, and mats to kill bugs.

Identification credit: Nongthombam Ullysess Photographed in Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand.

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