Vireya - Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole'

[Tindomul]

Some of you may remember that I love Rhodies, and one of my favourite groups of Rhododendrons are known as Vireyas. These are tropical Rhododendrons from Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. These were all the rage in prewar UK as far I know. I like to try and stuff them inside my terrariums, and today I found two flowers on my Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole".
Rhododendron viriosum x R. gracilentum

International Rhododendron Register entry:
'Alisa Nicole' cv.
Lepidote Rhododendron: viriosum (s) X gracilentum
H: G.L.S. Snell, G: G.L.S. Snell (1984), N: G.L.S. Snell,
I: Shrublands Nursery (1987), REG: Shrublands Nursery (1988).
Flowers 2-3/truss, shortly funnel-shaped, 35x30mm, 5-lobed, deep purplish pink (54B).
Leaves elliptic, 40x20mm, hairless.
Shrub 0.3m tall.
Summer-autumn.

Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole'-10 by César, on Flickr

Because it was blooming so high in the tank I could not get an unobstructed view of the flowers from above. This is why the first picture is a view from below and the following picture has a no-seum netting between the flowers and the camera lens.

Rhododendron 'Alisa Nicole'-11 by César, on Flickr

And here is a tank shot of so you can see what the obstruction is. The purpose of the screen is for ventilation.

20 Gallon Long Vivarium by César, on Flickr