Camellia (pronounced/kə.ˈmɛ.li.ə/[2] or/kə.ˈmiː.li.ə/[3]) is agenus of flowering plants in the familyTheaceae.[1] They are found in tropical and subtropical areas ineastern andsouthern Asia, from theHimalayas east toJapan andIndonesia. There are more than 220 describedspecies;[1] almost all are found in southern China and Indochina.[4]: 66 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.[5][6]
The leaves ofC. sinensis are processed to createtea, 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 ornamentalC. japonica,C. sasanqua and theirhybrids are the source of hundreds of gardencultivars.C. oleifera producestea seed oil, used in cooking and cosmetics.
Camellias areevergreenshrubs or smalltrees up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. Their leaves are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and usually glossy.
Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to 12 cm (5 in) 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.[7][page needed][8] Some research has shown that the colour of petals in some species' flowers indicate their size and how they arepollinated; species with red or yellow flowers are pollinated bysunbirds whereas species with white flowers are smaller in diameter and are pollinated by bees.[9]: 3–4
Thefruit of camellia plants is a drycapsule, sometimes subdivided into up to five compartments. Each compartment contains up to eightseeds.
Due tohabitat destruction, several camellias have become rare in their natural range. One of these is the aforementionedC. reticulata, grown commercially in thousands for horticulture and oil production but rare enough in its natural range to be considered athreatened species.
The various species of camellia plants are generally well-adapted toacid soils rich inhumus, and most species do not grow well onchalky soil or othercalcium-rich soils. Most species of camellias also require a large amount of water, either from natural rainfall or fromirrigation, and the plants will not toleratedroughts. However, some of the more unusual camellias – typically species fromkarst soils inVietnam – 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 30 cm (12 in) per year until mature – however, this varies depending on their variety and geographical location.
Camellia reticulata is rare in the wild but has been cultivated for hundreds of years.
Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, is of major commercial importance becausetea is made from its leaves. The speciesC. sinensis is the product of many generations ofselective breeding to bring out desirable qualities for tea. However, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, tea made fromC. sasanqua leaves is popular in some parts of Japan.
Seeds ofC. oleifera,C. japonica, and, to a lesser extent, other species such asC. crapnelliana,C. reticulata,C. sasanqua andC. sinensis as well are pressed to maketea seed oil, a sweet seasoning and cooking oil special to East Asia. It is the most importantcooking 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 ofC. japonica, also called tsubaki oil ortsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care.[11]C. japonica plant is used to prepare traditional antiinflammatory medicines.[12]
Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China for centuries before they were seen in Europe. The German botanistEngelbert Kaempfer reported[13] 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 atThorndon Hall, Essex, byRobert James, Lord Petre, among the keenest gardeners of his generation, in 1739. His gardenerJames 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.[14]
With the expansion of thetea trade in the later 18th century, new varieties began to be seen in England, imported through theBritish 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 ofSir Abraham Hume ofWormleybury, Hertfordshire (1806). The camellia was imported from England to America in 1797 whenColonel John Stevens brought the flower as part of an effort to grow attractions withinElysian Fields inHoboken,New Jersey.[15] 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 asthe luxury flower. The Parisian courtesanMarie Duplessis, who died young in 1847, inspired Dumas'La Dame aux camélias and Verdi'sLa Traviata.
The fashionable imbricated formality of prized camellias was an element in their decline, replaced by the new hothouseorchid. Their revival after World War I as woodland shrubs for mild climates has been paralleled by the rise in popularity ofCamellia sasanqua.
The tea camellia,C. sinensis, has been selected bymany commercial cultivars for the taste of its leaves once processed into tea leaves.
Today, camellias are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers; about 3,000cultivars andhybrids have been selected, many withdouble or semi-double flowers.C. japonica is the most prominent species in cultivation, with over 2,000 named cultivars. Next areC. reticulata with over 400 named cultivars, andC. sasanqua with over 300 named cultivars. Popular hybrids includeC. × hiemalis (C. japonica ×C. sasanqua) andC. × williamsii (C. japonica ×C. saluenensis). Some varieties can grow considerably, up to100 m2, though more compact cultivars are available. They are frequently planted in woodland settings alongside othercalcifuges, such asrhododendrons. 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. Latefrosts can damage the flower buds, resulting in misshapen flowers.[16]
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)
The genus was named byLinnaeus after the Jesuit botanistGeorg 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).[27]: 246, 255 In 2022 the genus was separated into 7 sections based on phylogenetic study on 161 species.[28] Further studies demonstrated that sectionOleifera andParacamellia should be merged into sectionParacamellia.[29] The following sections are currently recognized:
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 bookTo 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 ofChanelhaute couture, a tradition started byCoco Chanel herself, who identified with the heroine of Dumas's work.
Camellias have major significance in theAkira Kurosawa filmSanjuro, likely due to their association with the concept of "a noble death" in samurai culture.
White camellias are a symbol of the women'ssuffrage movement in New Zealand and appear on the country'sten-dollar note.
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 ofabolitionist movement during the Imperial Age. It was common practice for abolitionists to plant camellias in solidarity.[32]
^Zhen PANG; Yi-Ling WANG; Nitin MANTRI; Yang WANG; Xue-Jun HUA; Yan-Ping QUAN; Xuan ZHOU; Zheng-Dong JIANG; Zhe-Chen QI; Hong-Fei LU (2022). "Molecular phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy position of 161 Camellia species in China".Taiwania.67 (4).doi:10.6165/tai.2022.67.560.
^Qin, Sheng-Yuan; Chen, Kai; Zhang, Wen-Ju; Xiang, Xiao-Guo; Zuo, Zheng-Yu; Guo, Cen; Zhao, Yao; Li, Lin-Feng; Wang, Yu-Guo; Song, Zhi-Ping; Yang, Ji; Yang, Xiao-Qiang; Zhang, Jian; Jin, Wei-Tao; Wen, Qiang; Zhao, Song-Zi; Chen, Jia-Kuan; Li, De-Zhu; Rong, Jun (2024). "Phylogenomic insights into the reticulate evolution of Camellia sect. Paracamellia Sealy (Theaceae)".Journal of Systematics and Evolution.62 (1):38–54.Bibcode:2024JSyEv..62...38Q.doi:10.1111/jse.12948.ISSN1674-4918.
^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.
^"State Flower of Alabama".Official Symbols and Emblems of Alabama. Alabama Department of Archives and History. February 6, 2014. Archived fromthe original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved2019-05-07.
^Toni Boornazian (November 23, 2020)."Camellia: The "Winter's Rose"". Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association. Retrieved2022-08-10.
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)(in Italian). Edition ETS;Lucca, 2012..
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