Augustine's rhododendron

A large evergreen shrub, to 2m tall and wide, with narrow, tapered leaves, up to 11cm long, with upper surfaces covered with a fine down whilst the undersides are scaly with pale hairs along the midrib. Open, funnel-shaped flowers, to 7cm across, are borne in mid and late spring in trusses of two to five and range in colour from white to a deep violet-blue with greenish-brown spots on the throats