Saurauja.] X. TERNSTKCEMIACE^. 25 



2. SAURAUJA, Willd. 



Leaves penniveined, with prominent parallel lateral nerves. Flowers 

 bisexual. Sepals 5, strongly imbricate. Petals 5, imbricate, connate at 

 base. Stamens numerous, adherent to base of corolla j anthers versatile, 

 opening at the top by a pore or short slit. Ovary 3-5- celled ; styles 3- 

 5, distinct or united. Fruit 3-5-celled, indehiscent, dry or fleshy. Seeds 

 small, immersed in pulp, with copious albumen. 



1. S. nepalensis, DC. ; Wall. PI. As. rar. t. 178; Hook. Fl. Ind. i. 286. 

 Vern. Gogma, goganda, N.W.P. 



A large shrub ; branchlets, young leaves, and inflorescence covered with 

 stiff long brown hairs. Leaves on thick hirsute petioles, oblong, acumin- 

 ate, 7-14 in. long, acutely serrate ; lateral nerves prominent, 25-30 on each 

 side of midrib. Flowers pink, in panicles, on a long common peduncle, 

 axillary or from the axil of a fallen leaf. Styles 4 or 5, distinct, \ in. long. 



Outer Himalaya, alt. 2500-7000 ft., from the Jumna to Bhutan. Fl. about 

 May, the fruit ripening some weeks afterwards. The palatable viscid fruit is eaten. 



3. CAMELLIA, Linn. 



Trees or shrubs, with evergreen, coriaceous, serrate leaves, and large 

 axillary bracteate flowers. Sepals 5-6, the inner larger. Petals cohering 

 at the base. Stamens numerous, the outer in many series, more or less 

 connate, and adhering to the base of the petals, the inner 5-12 free ; 

 anthers versatile. Ovary 3-5-celled, ovules 4-5 pendulous in each cell. 

 Capsule woody, dehiscing longitudinally. Seeds large, oily, generally one 

 in each cell ; albumen ; embryo straight ; cotyledons thick, oily ; radicle 

 superior. 



1. 0. Thea, Link Syn. C. Bohea, Griff. Not. iv. 55(5 (the China 

 plant) ; C. theifera, Griff. 1. c. 558 (the indigenous Assam plant) ; Hook. 

 Fl. Ind. i. 292. Thea chinensis, Linn., The Tea plant 



A shrub, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Leaves elliptic, oblong, acumi- 

 nate. Flowers solitary on short 2-3-bracteate peduncles. Sepals persistent, 

 rotundate, very obtuse, glabrous or with silky pubescence. Petals white, 

 obovate, obtuse, glabrous or pubescent on the back. Stamens glabrous, 

 the inner 5 free. Ovary villous ; styles 3, glabrous, connate beyond the 

 middle. Capsule glabrous. Testa hard, smooth, shining. 



Indigenous in Upper Assam (discovered 1834). Cultivated ages ago in China 

 and Japan. Since 1840 cultivated extensively in Assam, Cachar, Sikkim, the 

 North- West Himalaya, and other parts of India. The spread of Tea cultivation 

 in North- West India is mainly due to Dr W. Jameson, who established the 

 Government plantations in Dehra Doon, Kamaon, and Kangra. It was at 

 one time supposed that there were two species in China, of which Thea Bohea 

 yielded the black, and T. viridis the green Tea. These species, however, can- 

 not be maintained. Though the varieties of the Tea plant are numerous, it is 

 not at present possible to distinguish them by definite specific characters. The 

 indigenous Assam plant is marked by larger, more acuminate leaves, and it is 

 not certain whether it should not be regarded as a distinct species. 



Camellia japonica, the well-known Camellia, is indigenous in Japan, and 

 cultivated there as well as in China from time immemorial. Introduced into 

 Europe in the beginning of the eighteenth century. 



