- 266 - 



„A fairly large, much branched, vigorous growing bush, met with 

 ,,chiefly under cultivation, iii India entirely so. Leaves medium-sized, 

 ,,linear, oblong, thick, smooth, leathery, often partially closed lengthwise 

 ,,on the upper surface (so as to become concave, in place of convex, as 

 ,,in „Assam indigenous '), and possessed of 10 to 14 primary veins; under 

 ,, surface speckled with what appears like very minute shining scales embedded 

 ,,within the surface, or, when seen on very dry and old leaves, appearing 

 ,,on the apex of exceedingly minute elevated warts ')". 



1 think that hère again Watt has put together two différent things. 

 First tiie „classic" bohea, the typical dark and thick-leaved Chinese tea, 

 and then some hybrids of Assam and China tea, which not only by Indian 

 tea planters but aiso in Java are generally calied „hybrid" (or in Java, 

 „Ceylon") type, vigorous bushes with 10— 14 veins. For ail that, the samples 

 cited by Watt and enumerated in our foot note belong indeed, in my 

 opinion too, to the var. bohea, at least provided that the rétention of this 

 ancient dénomination is thought indispensable. 



The herbarium material meant to support this variety as defined by 

 Watt, may be found entirely at Kew. It embraces, first of ail, a ,, China 

 tea plant" collected by Griffith in India in 1845. Next, samples taken 

 from the environments of Can-ton by Lord Macartney and Sir George 

 Staunton 2), Further, the numbers 108 of 1845 and 18 of 1846, collected 

 by Fortune in the provinces Kwang-tung and Fo-kien. Several spécimens 

 from Henry: nr. 2214 (of 1887), 2499, 1917 and 2978, representing tea 

 from the mid course of the Yang-tze round about I-chang. One spécimen 

 of Faber's from Mount Omei in Sze-chuen (nr. 96, probably identical with 

 the spécimen without number in the Berlin Muséum). Another plant found 

 by Carles near Foo-chow (nr. 735) and said to be there valued for the 

 oil from its seed Two plants, found in Japan by Maxlwowicz and Oldham 

 (nrs. 415 and 35^, respectively). Two samples (nrs. 251 and 252) collected 

 by Faber at Ning-po, and Hancock's nr. 41 with the annotation on its 

 label: „the choicest tea grown at the (Ning-po) monastery". Thèse samples 

 are not consistent with Fortune's account (p. 256) oi Thea viridis grovj\ng 

 near Ning-po. 



Watt's third variety is: 



,,Var. r s t r i c t a 3). 



') Thèse warts are the cork formations nientioned before. The „shining scales'' are 

 stomata, which in fact are in many exsiccated bohea samples light yellow-coloured, 

 whereas Assani tea does not exhibit this feature. 



-') Sir G. StauntoN 1797, I p. 464. His journey went from Hang-chow along the Tsin- 

 tang-kiang (Chen-tang-chaung) or Qreen River until Chang-shan (Chan-shan-shen), 

 just as Fortunes itinerary; then Westward to the Po-yang lake, from that région 

 Southward to Can-ton down the Kia-kiang and the Pe-kiang. The tea plant is fiiliy 

 recorded only along the banks of the Tsin-tang river. 



^) lllustrative quotations: LlNN. Herb. nr. 1; T. Chusan, Petiver Hort. nr. 983 (Brit. 

 Mus.), collected in Chusan by CuNHiNOHAM in 1702; Thea stricto, HAYt^E,Gew'àchse, 

 1821, Vil. t. 27; Nées. Abbild. offiz. Pflanzen, 1828. il, t, 428. The China Tea of 

 Indian planters. 



