In his latest classification of Taiwan's wild rhododendrons, Lu Sheng-you of the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute makes this special note against the Kanehira azalea: "Endemic, formerly found in dry gullie s along the Peishih River and around Lutsu Lake. But since the Feitsui Reservoir was finished in 1984, its habitat may have been completely inundated.
在林試所研究人員呂勝由對台灣野生杜鵑的最新分類表上，特別對烏來杜鵑寫下這樣的文字：「台灣特產種。從前分佈於北勢溪乾溝、鸕鶿潭一帶，民國七十三年翡翠水庫竣工後，其生育地可能已全遭淹沒，希望在上游地區能夠發現其殘株，以便進行復育計畫。」