Rounded evergreen shrubs with ascending bristly branches. Very attractive foliage, shiny and rugulose on the upper surface, with a thick cinnamon brown indumentum on the lower. The fleshy bell-shaped flowers (late winter to mid-spring) are deep red or scarlet to carmine. One of the first species to bloom in the garden each year. This species seems to have a very limited range in the wild and has only been found in a small area of NE India (Arunachal Pradesh) and adjacent NE Upper Burma where it occurs in various high montane habitats from 9,000 to 11,000 ft.