CAMELLIA 



CAMfiLLIA (after George Joseph Kamel or Camellus, 

 a Moravian Jesuit, who traveled in Asia in the seventeenth 

 century). Ternsiro^mihcecp. Evergreen trees or shrubs; 

 Ivs. alternate, short-petioled, serrate: fls. large, axillary 

 or terminal, usually solitary, white or red ; sepals and 

 petals 5 or more : stamens numerous, connate at the base : 

 fr. a 3-5-celled, dehis- 

 cent capsule, with 

 large, globular or 

 ovoid seeds. About 

 10 species in trop.and 

 subtrop. Asia, di- 

 vided into the sub- 

 genera Eucamellia 

 and Thfa, considered 

 by some to be distinct 

 genera, by some all 

 united under Thea. 

 The species of Eu- 



CAMELLU 



225 



328. Camelli 



Japoi 

 Abby Wild 



camellia, especially C. 

 tlaponica, are popular 

 decorative shrubs, with 

 very showy fls. About 50 

 years ago one of the most 

 appreciated greenhouse ^29. Camellia 

 shrubs, and several bun- Japonica — 

 dreii varieties were eulti- Lucida. 



Tated. Of the second 

 subgenus, C. Thea is 

 cultivated in nearly all subtropical coun- 

 tries and In the mountainous regions of 

 the tropics for its leaves, which yield the 

 well-known tea, and are an article of great 

 commercial importance. There is a mono- 

 graph of this genus by Seemann in Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. XXII. p. 337-352. Illustrated 

 monographs of the horticultural varieties 

 are: Curtis, Monogr. of the genus Camellia 

 (1819); Baumann, Bollweiler Camellien- 

 sammlung (1828); Chandler, Camellieje 

 ( 1831 ) ; Berl^se, Hlonogr.du genre Camellia 

 a (1839); Verschaffelt, Nouvelle Mono- 

 graphie du Camellia (1848-60): the last 

 with 576 and the foregoing with 300 colored 

 plates. 



A. J^Is. sessile, erect, terminal and axil- 

 liiry; calyx-lobes deciduous. Camel- 

 lia proper. 



Jap6nica, Linn. Figs. 328-331. Shrub 

 or tree, sometimes to 40 ft., glabrous: 

 Ivs. very shining and dark green above, 

 ovate or elliptic, acuminate, sharply serrate, 2-4 in. long: 

 fls. red in the tvpe, 3-5 in. across ; petals 5-7, round- 

 ish. Cliiiia, JaiKin. B.M. 42. S.Z. 82. F.S. 20: 2121.- 

 Var. Alba, Lo.l.i. Fls. white. L.B.C. 7:636. Gn. 54, p. 

 243. Var. Alba plena, Lodd. Fls. white, double. L.B C. 

 3: 269. Var. anemoniflora, Curtis. Fls. red, with 5 large 

 petals, the staiufus rliaiiirfd into numerous smaller and 

 narrow petals; the whul,.- li. resembling that of a double 

 Anemone. L.B.t'. .^37. B.M. 1654. For the numerous 

 other garden forms, see the above mentioned mono- 

 graphs ; also, Flore des Serres, L'lUustration Horticole, 

 and other older horticultural publications contain a 

 large number of varieties with illustrations. 



reticulAta, Lindl. Large shrub, glabrous : Ivs. dull 

 green, not shining above, reticulate, flat, elliptic-oblong, 

 acuminate, serrate, 3-5 in. long : fls. 5-7 in. across, pur- 

 plish rose; petals 15-20, obovate,looselv arranged. China. 

 B.R. 13:1078. B.M. 2784. P.M. 3:101. -Var. pl^na, 

 Hort. Fls. with twice as manv petals, and more regularly 

 arranged. B.M. 4976. F.S. 12:1279-80. 



SaeAnqua, Thunb. Shrub of loose, straggling habit, 

 with the branches pubescent when young : Ivs. elliptic, 



15 



bluntly pointed at the apex, crenate-serrate, shining, 

 dark green and hairy on the midrib above, lK-3 in. long: 

 fls. lK-2 in. across, white ; petals 5 or more, obovate or 

 oblong. China, Japan. Gn. 54:1189. S.Z. 83 (except the 

 red vars.). — Var. semipl^na, Hort. Fls. sciiii(li>ulile, 

 white. B.B. 1:12 and i:!:l(l',U. Vai. anemoniflora, .'^ii-m. 

 Fls. large, double, outer iii-t.als wliit.-, iun.r ..n.s much 

 smaller, yellow. B.M. 51,J2. Var. oleiJera, Kehd. ( C. oleif- 

 era, Lindl.). Of more robust habit, with Ivs. and the 

 single white fls. larger than in the type. B.R. 11: 942. 

 L.B.C. 11:1065. 



AA. Jfls.pedicelled, nodding, mostly axillary: calyx- 

 teeth persistent. Thea. 

 Thia, Link. (C. thelfera. Griff. Thea Sinensis, Linn.). 

 Tea. Shrub, sometimes tree, to 30 ft. : Ivs. elliptic-lance- 

 olate or obovate-lanceolate, acuminate, serrate, glabrous, 

 sometimes pubescent beneath : fl. white, fragrant, 1- 

 ly^in. broad; petals 5. China. India.— Usually two varie- 

 ties are distinguished: Var. Boh^a ( Thin linhrn. Linn.). 

 Lvs. elliptic, dark green, ti> :: in. Imts: branclji-s ciect. 

 B.M. 998. L.B.C. 3: 226. Var. viridia (Thia viridis, 

 Linn.). Lvs. pale green, lanceolate, to 5 in. long: 

 branches .spreading. B.M. 3148. L.B.C. 3:227 and 19: 

 1828. The black tea, however, and green tea of commerce 

 do not come from certain varieties, but are the result 

 of different treatment of the leaves after gathering. 



C. axillaris, Roxb.= Grordonia anomala.— C. drupifera, Lour. 

 (C. Kissi, Wall.). Shrub to 8 ft.: lvs. elliptic, long acuminate: 

 fls. l/^in. wide, fragrant, white; petals obovate. Himal., India. 

 L.B.C. 19:1813.— C. euryoXdes. Lindl. (Thea euryoides. Booth). 

 Shrub to 4 ft.: lvs. ovate-lanceolate, silky beneath : tls. white, 

 nodding, axUlary, rather small. B.R. 12:983. L.B.C. 15: 1493.— 

 O. euryoides, Hort.= C. rosiflora. var. maliflora.- C. rosifldra. 

 Hook. (C.Sasanqua, fl. rubro, Sims). Shrub: lvs. ovate, acumi- 

 nate ; fls. pink : petals 5. obeordate : ovary glabrous. China. 

 P \I W44 Var mnliflhra Relid (C maliflora, Lindl.). Pis. 



double, pink. B.R. 



7:547. L.B.C. 12: 



1134. B.M. 2080. 



Alfred Rehder. 



Camellias are 

 not hard to grow, 

 either the well- 

 known C. Japon- 

 ica or the less 

 common C. Sa- 

 sanqua, and C, 

 Thea, the Tea 

 Plant. They re- 

 quire a coolhouse, 

 not too dry an 

 atmosphere, and 



330. Camellia 



Japonica — 

 I. A. Downing. 



must never suffer 

 from dryness at the 

 roots ; a somewhat 

 shady position is 

 helpful, and good 

 ventilation is essen- 

 tial. A night tem- 

 perature of 45°-50° 

 P. is best for them 

 while at rest ; this 

 is also the time of 

 blooming, but it 

 may be increased 

 during the period 

 of growth ; the day 

 temperature should be from 60°-70° F. The soil for es- 

 tablished plants should be made mainly of well-rotted 

 sods, to which should be added some leaf-mold, rotted 

 cow-raanure, and enough sand to insure good drain- 

 age ; sod and leaf -mold should be unsifted. For young 

 plants, the Dutch growers use a rather fine soil of 

 peat, leaf -mold and sand ; the Japanese gardeners use 



331. Camellia 



Jap^ 



President Clark 



