Low-growing compact evergreen shrubs with reddish brown peeling bark. The large funnel-shaped flowers are white or white flushed pink in early to mid-spring. The distinct and attractive glossy foliage is elliptic in shape with long hairs on the upper surface and fringing the margin. Tolerant of alkaline soil and fairly drought tolerant once established. Often a common species in mountain forests, boggy areas and rocky hillsides from 8,000 to 13,000 ft. in the eastern Himalayas.