— 227 — ' 



Eurya species for tea'). Then, wlien bishop Heber thought he had discovered 

 „wild tea" on the Sutlej (a tributary to the Indus), a doser examination 

 showed tliat it was a Santalacea (Osyris).'-) No more correct is Bennett's 

 statement in his „Ceylon and its capabilities", about a „wild tea" growing 

 there, which is according to Trimen ^), a Leguminous plant, Cassia auricu- 

 lata L.; nor is the amateur's statement, who sent the Celastracea Elaeo- 

 dendron glauciim Pers. to Roxburgh, under the name of ,,Ceylon tea"'!"*) 

 Further we hear from Griffith 5) that he found a Camellia in S. E. 

 Assam (of which species, he was not certain), that was calied ,,Bun Fullup 

 or jungle tea" by the natives. Sir D. Prain equally told me that C. ûfn/pZ/^ra 

 and others hâve several tinies been taken for wild tea. And this is also 

 the case in China, where the word „ch'a", in Siam, where the names „mieng'' 

 or ,,miang", and in Burnn, where the dénominations „iapet" or „leppet'', 

 seem to be employed both for the tea plant and for several other Camellia's. 

 We shall see in the next chapter, that Linnaeus again and again received 

 C. japonica in place of the tea plant. And in chapter VI we shall deal with 

 C. lanceolata, Sasanqiia and confiisa, the leaves of which hâve in several 

 instances been mistaken for genuine tea. 



We hâve inquired now, whether the wild plant can hâve spread from 

 the Ante-Tibetan mountain range, and hâve reached the conclusion that 

 this is not admissible, except, perhaps, for the large-leaved varieties. Still, 

 the question remains to be settled, whether the tea plant has been trans- 

 ported by man in centrifugal direction, after the establishment of manu- 

 facturing methods? It is easy to conceive that artificial distribution is 

 effected nearly independently of natural processes of this kind. The plant 

 in question does not possess any ,,means" to effect or to facilitate natural 

 distributio:i, whereas a useful plant always stands a fair chance to get 

 spread. Natural distribution is hampered by sundry circumstances that are 

 of no moment for traffic, and commerce may accomplish within a short 

 lapse of time what otherwise would hâve required many centuries. 



Hence we hâve once more to face the possibility of centrifugal dis- 

 placement, this time, however, by artificial means. It is remarkable that, 



') H. Trimen 1893, I p. 110. 



2) G. Watt 1893, p. 441. Kiefër (1902, p. 7) quotes W. Moorcroft and G. Trebeck 

 as the autliors of a volume on ,,Travels in the Himalayan provinces of Hindustan 

 and the Panjab" London 1841, from which book this story, relating to Osyris nepa- 

 lensis, seems to Iiave been borrowed. 



3) H. Trimen 1893. I p. 112. 



") H. Trimen 1893, ! p. 272. „The leaves vary extremeiy; in the dry région they are 



,,frequently found strongly serrate It is this which ROXBURGH re- 



„cords (Hort. Beng. 18) as „Ceylon Tea" under which name it was sent from Ceylon 

 „to the Bot. Garden, Calcutta, by Gen. Me Dowall (see RoxB Fi. Ind. I 639)." 



5j W. Griffith 1838, p. 158; 1847, p. 61. — A. KlEFER (1902, p. 10) says that Mr. BRANDIS 

 toid him personaily that the aborigines of Upper Burma use the leaves of at least 

 half a dozen of plants that hâve nothing to do with genuine tea, as substitutes for 

 the latter! 



