• Family : Ericaceae
  (Heather Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : RHODODENDRON FAMILY (बुराँश फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : Ericaceae
• Synonym(s) : Azalea arborea (Sm.) Kuntze; Rhododendron cordifolium Dehnh.; Rhododendron gloxiniiflorum Millais; Rhododendron puniceum Roxb.; Rhododendron rollissonii Lindl.; Rhododendron undulatum Steud.; Rhododendron venustum Salisb.; Rhododendron windsorii Nutt.; Stemotis coccineum Raf.; Stemotis roseum Raf.
• Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Rhododendron arboreum Sm.
• Common name : Tree Rhododendron
• Vernacular name : Burans, Lal buransh (Hindi); Billi (Tamil); Kattupoo varasu (Malayalam); Pu (Kannada); Lali gurans (Nepali); Kokluiwon (Tangkhul); Chhawkhlei (Mizo)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Evergreen oak and Blue Pine forests, 1200 - 3000 m. altitude
• Comments / notes : It is the state tree of Uttarakhand. It is extremely variable in stature, hardiness, flower color and leaf characteristics. This plant holds the Guinness Record for World's Largest Rhododendron.
• Key identification features : Abaxial leaf surface with white to silvery-white indumentum; corolla red to carmine, rarely pink.
• Flower, Fruit : March-July
• Distribution :
  • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
  • Sikkim : East Sikkim (Gangtok) district
  • West Bengal : Darjeeling district
  • Meghalaya : East Khasi Hills (Shillong) district
• Native : Bhutan, East Himalaya, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, West Himalaya
• Exotic/Native : Native
• World Distribution : North Pakistan to South Tibet and Assam
• Literature : Uniyal B.P., Sharma J.R., Choudhery U., Singh D.K. (2007). Flowering Plants of Uttarakhand: A Checklist. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh: 166; GRIERSON A.J.C. & LONG D.G. (1983). FLORA OF BHUTAN INCLUDING A RECORD OF PLANTS FROM SIKKIM Vol. 2: Part 1. ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, EDINBURGH: 372-373; K. Sankara Rao photography
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Navendu Page, Deepak Kumar (2020). Pan India Bouquets. http://flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/pan/plants.php?name=Rhododendron arboreum. Downloaded on 5 December 2023.

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