The official flower of the central province the Rhododendron arboreum - subsp. zeylanicum grows in the regions 1700 – 2300 m above sea level, in Horton plains, Ohiya, Pattipola, Seetha Eliya, Moon Thenna in the Nuwara Eliya district. It is reported that this plant has been found growing in the Knuckles, Namunukula ranges.
This plant grows better in on open plains rather than in forests. It grows up to 2 or 3 feet in open plains and the same is found growing up to 10 or 15 feet in jungles. Apart from surviving in the coold regions of the mountains ,this plant also has been observed to successfully withstand frequent forest fires in the Horton plains being capable of re-grow after destruction by fire. The leaves exhibit thickness in the region of millimeters of 110×50. In common with the leaves of other sub species Rhododendron arboreum - subsp. zeylanicum bears fine brown hairs on the underside of the leaves. This can be considered as an adaptation to withstand extreme cold.
The buds of the Rhododendron arboreum - subsp. zeylanicum are oval in shape and they open out as flowers from time to time. The flowers come out in bunches deep red in colour. Each such bunch of flowers contains 10,20 flowers that can be separated and are 35×20 mm in size.In the Horton plains flowers bloom during April to June in profusion and can be seen adding colour to the mist clad hills and presents a lovely resplendent spectacle while adding to the beauty of nature attracts bee’s butterflies and birds to the nectar provided and thus presence a spectacle of outstanding beauty, in the hills.
According to the picturesque details presented the Rhododendron arboreum-subsp.zeylanicum flourishes only in the central hills. Therefore this flower has been accepted as a flower endemic to the central region.
