Camellia

 ( Ericales Genera ) 

Camellia (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia and South Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species; almost all are found in southern China and Indochina. Camellias are popular ornamental, tea, and woody-oil plants cultivated worldwide for centuries. Over 26,000 cultivars, with more than 51,000 cultivar names, including synonyms, have been registered or published.

The leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create tea, and so are of particular economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, with the processed leaves widely sold and consumed globally. The ornamental C. japonica, C. sasanqua and their hybrids are the source of hundreds of garden . C. oleifera produces tea seed oil, used in cooking and cosmetics.

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Description Camellias are evergreen shrubs or small up to tall. Their leaves are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and usually glossy.

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Flowers and fruit Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to in diameter, with five to nine petals in naturally occurring species of camellias. The colors of the flowers vary from white through pink colors to red; truly yellow flowers are found only in South China and Vietnam. Tea varieties are always white-flowered. Camellia flowers throughout the genus are characterized by a dense bouquet of conspicuous yellow stamens, often contrasting with the petal colors.

(2025). 9780500251461, Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500251461

The International Camellia Society. Flowers of Camellias. Some research has shown that the colour of petals in some species' flowers indicate their size and how they are pollination; species with red or yellow flowers are pollinated by whereas species with white flowers are smaller in diameter and are pollinated by bees.

The fruit of camellia plants is a dry capsule, sometimes subdivided into up to five compartments. Each compartment contains up to eight .

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Ecology Camellia plants are used as food plants by the of some Lepidoptera species. Leaves of Camellia japonica are susceptible to the fungus Parasitism Mycelia sterile (see below for the significance), Sterile fungi produces a metabolite named PF1022A that is used to produce emodepside, an anthelmintic drug.

Due to habitat destruction, several camellias have become rare in their natural range. One of these is the aforementioned C. reticulata, grown commercially in thousands for horticulture and oil production but rare enough in its natural range to be considered a threatened species.

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Growth The various species of camellia plants are generally well-adapted to rich in humus, and most species do not grow well on soil or other calcium-rich soils. Most species of camellias also require a large amount of water, either from natural rainfall or from irrigation, and the plants will not tolerate . However, some of the more unusual camellias – typically species from karst soils in Vietnam – can grow without too much water.

Camellia plants are generally considered slow growing. This slow growth rate makes them well-suited for growing in pots or tubs, and they don't require frequent pruning. While some varieties may grow more quickly than others, particularly when young, the overall growth rate of most camellias is relatively slow. Typically, they will grow about per year until mature – however, this varies depending on their variety and geographical location.

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History and use Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, is of major commercial importance because tea is made from its leaves. The species C. sinensis is the product of many generations of selective breeding to bring out desirable qualities for tea. However, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, tea made from C. sasanqua leaves is popular in some parts of Japan.

Seeds of C. oleifera, C. japonica, and, to a lesser extent, other species such as C. crapnelliana, C. reticulata, C. sasanqua and C. sinensis as well are pressed to make tea seed oil, a sweet seasoning and cooking oil special to East Asia. It is the most important cooking oil for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China.

Camellia oil is commonly used to clean and protect the blades of cutting instruments.

Camellia oil pressed from seeds of C. japonica, also called tsubaki oil or tsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care.How to Use Japanese Camellia (Tsubaki) Oil. [2]. C. japonica plant is used to prepare traditional antiinflammatory medicines.

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Garden history Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China for centuries before they were seen in Europe. The German botanist Engelbert Kaempfer reportedKaemfer, Amoenitates exoticae, 1712, noted by Alice M. Coats, Garden Shrubs and Their Histories (1964) 1992, s.v. "Camellia". that the "Japan Rose", as he called it, grew wild in woodland and hedgerow, but that many superior varieties had been selected for gardens. Europeans' earliest views of camellias must have been their representations in Chinese painted wallpapers, where they were often represented growing in porcelain pots.

The first living camellias seen in England were a single red and a single white, grown and flowered in his garden at Thorndon Hall, Essex, by Robert James, Lord Petre, among the keenest gardeners of his generation, in 1739. His gardener James Gordon was the first to introduce camellias to commerce, from the nurseries he established after Lord Petre's untimely death in 1743, at Mile End, Essex, near London.Coats (1964) 1992.

With the expansion of the tea trade in the later 18th century, new varieties began to be seen in England, imported through the British East India Company. The Company's John Slater was responsible for the first of the new camellias, double ones, in white and a striped red, imported in 1792. Further camellias imported in the East Indiamen were associated with the patrons whose gardeners grew them: a double red for Sir Robert Preston in 1794 and the pale pink named "Lady Hume's Blush" for Amelia, the lady of Sir Abraham Hume of Wormleybury, Hertfordshire (1806). The camellia was imported from England to America in 1797 when Colonel John Stevens brought the flower as part of an effort to grow attractions within Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey.The New York Botanical Garden, Curtis' Botanical Magazine, Volume X Bronx, New York: The New York Botanical Garden, 1797 By 1819, twenty-five camellias had bloomed in England; that year the first monograph appeared, Samuel Curtis's, A Monograph on the Genus Camellia, whose five handsome folio colored illustrations have usually been removed from the slender text and framed. Though they did not flower for over a decade, camellias that set seed rewarded their growers with a wealth of new varieties. By the 1840s, the camellia was at the height of its fashion as the luxury flower. The Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis, who died young in 1847, inspired Dumas' La Dame aux camélias and Verdi's La Traviata.

The fashionable imbricated formality of prized camellias was an element in their decline, replaced by the new hothouse orchid. Their revival after World War I as woodland shrubs for mild climates has been paralleled by the rise in popularity of Camellia sasanqua.

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Modern cultivars The tea camellia, C. sinensis, has been selected by many commercial cultivars for the taste of its leaves once processed into tea leaves.

Today, camellias are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers; about 3,000 and Hybrid plant have been selected, many with double flower or semi-double flowers. C. japonica is the most prominent species in cultivation, with over 2,000 named cultivars. Next are C. reticulata with over 400 named cultivars, and C. sasanqua with over 300 named cultivars. Popular hybrids include C. × hiemalis ( C. japonica × C. sasanqua) and C. × williamsii ( C. japonica × C. saluenensis). Some varieties can grow considerably, up to , though more compact cultivars are available. They are frequently planted in woodland settings alongside other calcifuges, such as rhododendrons. They are particularly associated with areas of high soil acidity, such as Cornwall and Devon in the UK. They are highly valued for their very early flowering, often among the first flowers to appear in the late winter. Late can damage the flower buds, resulting in misshapen flowers.

There is a great variety of flower forms:

• single (flat, bowl- or cup-shaped)
• semi-double (rows of large outer petals, with the centre comprising mixed petals and stamens)
• double:
• paeony form (convex mass of irregular petals and petaloids with hidden stamens)
• anemone form (one or more rows of outer petals, with mixed petaloids and stamens in the centre)
• rose form (overlapping petals showing stamens in a concave centre when open)
• formal double (rows of overlapping petals with hidden stamens)

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AGM cultivars The following hybrid cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: File:Camellia x williamsii 'Brigadoon'.JPG|Simple-flowered Camellia × williamsii cv. 'Brigadoon' File:Semi-double Camelia cultivar.jpg|Semi-double-flowered camellia cultivar File:PinkCamelliaJaponica.jpg|Double-flowered camellia cultivar File:Camellia hyb Yuri s Yellow Kalenderkopie.jpg|Double-flowered hybrid cv. 'Jury's Yellow'

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Taxonomy The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines and described one of its species (although Linnaeus did not refer to Kamel's account when discussing the genus). In 2022 the genus was separated into 7 sections based on phylogenetic study on 161 species. Further studies demonstrated that section Oleifera and Paracamellia should be merged into section Paracamellia. The following sections are currently recognized:

• Camellia
• Chrysantha
• Longipedicellata
• Longissima
• Paracamellia
• Thea
• Tuberculata

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Species Plants of the World Online currently includes:

1. Camellia albata Orel & Curry
2. Camellia amplexicaulis (Pit.) Cohen-Stuart
3. Camellia amplexifolia Merr. & Chun
4. Camellia anlungensis Hung T.Chang
5. Camellia assimiloides Sealy
6. Camellia aurea Hung T.Chang
7. Camellia azalea C.F.Wei
8. Camellia brevistyla (Hayata) Cohen-Stuart
9. Camellia bugiamapensis Orel, Curry, Luu & Q.D.Nguyen
10. Camellia campanulata Orel, Curry & Luu
11. Camellia candida Hung T.Chang
12. Camellia capitata Orel, Curry & Luu
13. Camellia cattienensis Orel
14. Camellia caudata Wall.
15. Camellia chekiangoleosa Hu
16. Camellia cherryana Orel
17. Camellia chinmeiae S.L.Lee & T.Y.A.Yang
18. Camellia chrysanthoides Hung T.Chang
19. Camellia concinna Orel & Curry
20. Camellia connata (Craib) Craib
21. Camellia corallina (Gagnep.) Sealy
22. Camellia cordifolia (F.P.Metcalf) Nakai
23. Camellia costata S.Y.Hu & S.Y.Liang
24. Camellia costei H.Lév.
25. Camellia crapnelliana Tutcher – Crapnell's camellia
26. Camellia crassicolumna Hung T.Chang
27. Camellia crassipes Sealy
28. Camellia crassiphylla Ninh & Hakoda
29. Camellia cuongiana Orel & Curry
30. Camellia cupiformis T.L.Ming
31. Camellia curryana Orel & Luu
32. Camellia cuspidata (Kochs) Bean
33. Camellia dalatensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & Hakoda
34. Camellia debaoensis R.C.Hu & Y.Q.Liufu
35. Camellia decora Orel, Curry & Luu
36. Camellia dilinhensis Ninh & V.D.Luong
37. Camellia dongnaicensis Orel
38. Camellia dormoyana (Pierre ex Laness.) Sealy
39. Camellia drupifera Lour.
40. Camellia duyana Orel, Curry & Luu
41. Camellia edithae Hance
42. Camellia elizabethae Orel & Curry
43. Camellia elongata (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Rehder
44. Camellia erubescens Orel & Curry
45. Camellia euphlebia Merr. ex Sealy
46. Camellia euryoides Lindl.
47. Camellia fangchengensis S.Ye Liang & Y.C.Zhong
48. Camellia fansipanensis J.M.H.Shaw, Wynn-Jones & V.D.Nguyen
49. Camellia fascicularis Hung T.Chang
50. Camellia flava (Pit.) Sealy
51. Camellia flavida Hung T.Chang
52. Camellia fleuryi (A.Chev.) Sealy
53. Camellia fluviatilis Hand.-Mazz.
54. Camellia forrestii (Diels) Cohen-Stuart
55. Camellia fraterna Hance
56. Camellia furfuracea (Merr.) Cohen-Stuart
57. Camellia gaudichaudii (Gagnep.) Sealy
58. Camellia gilbertii (A.Chev.) Sealy
59. Camellia glabricostata T.L.Ming
60. Camellia gracilipes Merr. ex Sealy
61. Camellia grandibracteata Hung T.Chang, Y.J.Tan, F.L.Yu & P.S.Wang
62. Camellia granthamiana Sealy – Grantham's camellia
63. Camellia grijsii Hance
64. Camellia gymnogyna Hung T.Chang
65. Camellia harlandii Orel & Curry
66. Camellia hatinhensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & L.T.Nguyen
67. Camellia hekouensis C.J.Wang & G.S.Fan
68. Camellia hiemalis Nakai
69. Camellia honbaensis Luu, Q.D.Nguyen & G.Tran
70. Camellia hongiaoensis Orel & Curry
71. Camellia hongkongensis Seem.
72. Camellia hsinpeiensis S.S.Ying
73. Camellia huana T.L.Ming & W.J.Zhang
74. Camellia ilicifolia Y.K.Li
75. Camellia impressinervis Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang
76. Camellia indochinensis Merr.
77. Camellia ingens Orel & Curry
78. Camellia insularis Orel & Curry
79. Camellia × intermedia (Tuyama) Nagam.
80. Camellia inusitata Orel, Curry & Luu
81. Camellia japonica L. – East Asian camellia
    synonym Camellia rusticana – snow camellia
82. Camellia kissii Wall.
83. Camellia krempfii (Gagnep.) Sealy
84. Camellia kwangsiensis Hung T.Chang
85. Camellia lanceolata (Blume) Seem.
86. Camellia langbianensis (Gagnep.) P.H.Hô
87. Camellia laotica (Gagnep.) T.L.Ming
88. Camellia lawii Sealy
89. Camellia leptophylla S.Ye Liang ex Hung T.Chang
90. Camellia ligustrina Orel, Curry & Luu
91. Camellia longicalyx Hung T.Chang
92. Camellia longii Orel & Luu
93. Camellia longipedicellata (Hu) Hung T.Chang & D.Fang
94. Camellia longissima Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang
95. Camellia lucii Orel & Curry
96. Camellia lutchuensis T.Itô
97. Camellia luteocerata Orel
98. Camellia luteoflora Y.K.Li ex Hung T.Chang & F.A.Zeng
99. Camellia luteopallida V.D.Luong, T.Q.T.Nguyen & Luu
100. Camellia luuana Orel & Curry
101. Camellia maiana Orel
102. Camellia mairei (H.Lév.) Melch.
103. Camellia maoniushanensis J.L.Liu & Q.Luo
104. Camellia megasepala Hung T.Chang & Trin Ninh
105. Camellia melliana Hand.-Mazz.
106. Camellia micrantha S.Ye Liang & Y.C.Zhong
107. Camellia mileensis T.L.Ming
108. Camellia mingii S.X.Yang
109. Camellia minima Orel & Curry
110. Camellia mollis Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren
111. Camellia montana (Blanco) Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren
112. Camellia murauchii Ninh & Hakoda
113. Camellia namkadingensis Soulad. & Tagane
114. Camellia nematodea (Gagnep.) Sealy
115. Camellia nervosa (Gagnep.) Hung T.Chang
116. Camellia oconoriana Orel, Curry & Luu
117. Camellia oleifera C.Abel – oil-seed camellia, tea oil camellia
118. Camellia pachyandra Hu
119. Camellia parviflora Merr. & Chun ex Sealy
120. Camellia parvimuricata Hung T.Chang
121. Camellia paucipunctata (Merr. & Chun) Chun
122. Camellia petelotii (Merr.) Sealy synonyms:
     C. chrysantha, C. nitidissima – yellow camellia
123. Camellia philippinensis Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren
124. Camellia pilosperma S.Yun Liang
125. Camellia pingguoensis D.Fang
126. Camellia piquetiana (Pierre) Sealy
127. Camellia pitardii Cohen-Stuart
128. Camellia pleurocarpa (Gagnep.) Sealy
129. Camellia polyodonta F.C.How ex Hu
130. Camellia psilocarpa X.G.Shi & C.X.Ye
131. Camellia ptilophylla Hung T.Chang
132. Camellia pubicosta Merr.
133. Camellia pubifurfuracea Y.C.Zhong
134. Camellia pubipetala Y.Wan & S.Z.Huang
135. Camellia pukhangensis N.D.Do, V.D.Luong, S.T.Hoang & T.H.Lê
136. Camellia punctata (Kochs) Cohen-Stuart
137. Camellia pyriparva Orel & Curry
138. Camellia pyxidiacea Z.R.Xu, F.P.Chen & C.Y.Deng
139. Camellia quangcuongii L.V.Dung, S.T. Hoang & Nhan
140. Camellia reflexa Orel & Curry
141. Camellia renshanxiangiae C.X.Ye & X.Q.Zheng
142. Camellia reticulata Lindl.
143. Camellia rhytidocarpa Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang
144. Camellia rosacea Tagane, Soulad. & Yahara
145. Camellia rosiflora Hook.
146. Camellia rosmannii Ninh
147. Camellia rosthorniana Hand.-Mazz.
148. Camellia rubriflora Ninh & Hakoda
149. Camellia salicifolia Champ.
150. Camellia saluenensis Stapf ex Bean
151. Camellia sasanqua Thunb.
152. Camellia scabrosa Orel & Curry
153. Camellia sealyana T.L.Ming
154. Camellia semiserrata C.W.Chi
155. Camellia septempetala Hung T.Chang & L.L.Qi
156. Camellia siangensis T.K.Paul & M.P.Nayar
157. Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze – tea plant
158. Camellia sonthaiensis Luu, V.D.Luong, Q.D.Nguyen & T.Q.T.Nguyen
159. Camellia stuartiana Sealy
160. Camellia subintegra P.C.Huang
161. Camellia synaptica Sealy
162. Camellia szechuanensis C.W.Chi
163. Camellia szemaoensis Hung T.Chang
164. Camellia tachangensis F.S.Zhang
165. Camellia tadungensis Orel, Curry & Luu
166. Camellia taliensis (W.W.Sm.) Melch. – also used to make tea like C. sinensis
167. Camellia tenii Sealy
168. Camellia thailandica Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren
169. Camellia thanxaensa Hakoda & Kirino
170. Camellia tienyenensis Orel & Curry
171. Camellia tomentosa Orel & Curry
172. Camellia tonkinensis (Pit.) Cohen-Stuart
173. Camellia transarisanensis (Hayata) Cohen-Stuart
174. Camellia trichoclada (Rehder) S.S.Chien
175. Camellia tsaii Hu
176. Camellia tsingpienensis Hu
177. Camellia tuberculata S.S.Chien
178. Camellia tuyenquangensis V.D.Luong, Le & Ninh
179. Camellia uraku Kitam.
180. Camellia villicarpa S.S.Chien
181. Camellia viridicalyx Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang
182. Camellia viscosa Orel & Curry
183. Camellia vuquangensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & L.T.Nguyen
184. Camellia wardii Kobuski
185. Camellia xanthochroma K.M.Feng & L.S.Xie
186. Camellia yokdonensis Dung bis & Hakoda
187. Camellia yunkiangica Hung T.Chang, H.S.Wang & B.H.Chen
188. Camellia yunnanensis (Pit. ex Diels) Cohen-Stuart

File:Camellia fraterna 2006-05-03 020.jpg| Camellia fraterna File:MG 5457.jpg|Flower buds of an unspecified camellia File:Camellia fruit.JPG|Fruits of an unspecified camellia File:Camellia japonica MHNT.BOT.2010.13.3.jpg| Camellia japonica - MHNT File:杜鵑葉山茶 Camellia azalea 20221123112737 02.jpg| Camellia azalea File:金花茶 Camellia petelotii 20221114215806 03.jpg| Camellia petelotii File:Camellia × williamsii 'Jury's Yellow'. 25-03-2024 (d.j.b.).jpg|Flower bud.

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Fossil record The earliest fossil record of Camellia are the leaves of † C. abensis from the upper Eocene of Japan, † C. abchasica from the lower Oligocene of Bulgaria and † C. multiforma from the lower Oligocene of Washington, United States.Journal of Plant Research, September 2016, Volume 129, Issue 5, pp 823–831, Camellia nanningensis sp. nov.: the earliest fossil wood record of the genus Camellia (Theaceae) from East Asia by Lu-Liang Huang, Jian-Hua Jin, Cheng Quan and Alexei A.

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Cultural significance The Camellia family of plants in popular culture.

• The following cities are nicknamed the "Camellia City" of each state: Greenville, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Slidell, Louisiana; McComb, Mississippi; and Newberg, Oregon. Meanwhile, Thomson, Georgia, is nicknamed the "Camellia City of the South".
• The camellia is the state flower of Alabama.
• A postseason college football bowl game introduced in 2014 in Montgomery, Alabama, was first known as the Camellia Bowl.
• Alexandre Dumas fils wrote the novel and stage adaptation The Lady of the Camellias, wherein the flower is a symbol of a courtesan's sexual availability.
• Augusta National Golf Club's 10th hole is named "Camellia", one of many references to the plant nursery originally on the site of the course.
• Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem titled "Camellia" about a youth's longing for a young woman he sees on the train.
• In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem destroys Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes after she insults his family, yet he later receives a camellia bud from the dying woman.
• A white camellia flower is an iconic symbol of Chanel haute couture, a tradition started by Coco Chanel herself, who identified with the heroine of Dumas's work.
• Camellias have major significance in the Akira Kurosawa film Sanjuro, likely due to their association with the concept of "a noble death" in samurai culture.
• White camellias are a symbol of the women's suffrage movement in New Zealand and appear on the country's ten-dollar note.
• The Knights of the White Camelia was an organization similar to the Ku Klux Klan.
• Temple City, California's slogan since 1944 has been "Temple City, Home of Camellias", and the city has become well-known for its Camellia Festival.
• In Brazil, the camellia was a symbol of abolitionism during the Imperial Age. It was common practice for abolitionists to plant camellias in solidarity.
• An Argentinian military march is called "Avenida de las Camelias".
• Camellia flowers are featured on the cover of The Silent Circus, the second studio album by American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me.

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See also

• List of Award of Garden Merit camellias

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Further reading

• F. Camangi, A. Stefani, T. Bracci, A. Minnocci, L. Sebastiani, A. Lippi, G. Cattolica, A.M. Santoro: Antiche camelie della Lucchesia (Storia, Botanico, Cultura, agronomia novità scientifiche e curiosità; Orto Botanico Comunale di Lucca) . Edition ETS; Lucca, 2012..

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External links

• The International Camellia Society
• The American Camellia Society
• The Southeastern Camellia Society
• Website with many Camellia illustrations from European and Japanese Camellia Books
• First Public Camellia Show historical marker
• Camellia House, Wollaton Park

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