fap) 
All the various kinds of Tea imported here come under the deno- 
mination of Bohea and Green, and even thefe are fuppofed to be the 
produce of the fame fpecies of the plant. Linnzus however has de- 
{cribed them as fpecifically different, founding the diftin@ion in the 
number of their petals. Others have alfo obferved, that the leaves of 
Tea plants differ confiderably both in form and colour, and this diffe- 
rence we have frequently noticed in the Tea growing in the vicinity 
of London; but whether thefe which the gardeners fell by the name 
of Bohea and Green Tea plants are to be regarded as permanent 
varieties, or diftin& fpecies, we have not the means to decide. De 
Loureiro * has defcribed three fpecies of Thea, viz. Thea cochin- 
chinenfis, Thea cantonenfis, and Thea oleofa. The firft is'a native 
of Cochin-China, where it is alfo cultivated, and ufed medicinally in 
hot weather as a fudorific and refrigerant. The Thea oleofa grows 
. wild in the neighbourhood of Canton, where an oil obtained from 
its feed is ufed for various domeftic purpofes. The Thea cantonentis, 
which Loureiro carefully examined in its native foil, was found to 
bear a clofe refemblance to another variety called Siaéd chong cha, and 
by the Europeans Souchong. Both thefe are brown, but more fra- 
grant and valuable than the common green Tea, which grows in the 
province of Fo den. Notwithftanding that this author has defcribed 
the three fpecies of Thea above mentioned, he fays that on examining | 
the dried flowers of the green Tea, brought from the province of 
Kiang fi, he obferved a great diverfity in the number of the parts of 
the calyx and corolla: hence he concludes that all the various Chinefe 
Teas are taken from the fame botanical f{pecies, and that the different 
flavour and appearance of Teas depend upon the nature of the foil, 
the culture, and method of preparing the leaves. _ | 
_ This opinion, which is founded on the fportive tendency of the 
‘flowers of the Tea plant, clearly fhows the fallacy of diftinguifhing 
the bohea and green Tea trees by the number of their petals, which 
even in this country have been found to vary from three to nine; yet 
this circumftance, though it proves the infufficiency of the Linnean 
charaéters, by no means determines the botanical identity of the green 
and bohea Teas; and while the prefent narrow and jealous policy of 
- * Flor, Cochinchinefis. 
No. 10.—Part IL. 2G ein 
