Rhododendron loranthiflorum was previously regarded as an
archipelagic endemic, with known stations in the Solomon Islands and New Britain.
An exploratory survey of the Lakekamu Basin has now established the plant's
presence on the southern side of the New Guinea mainland. The Lakekamu provenance
represents a geographical disjunction distinguishable as a separate subspecies,
and is formally described as subsp. lakekamuensis.