VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 8l 



CAMETJA JAPONICA.— :^-j^(Ch'a-hua), 12; also writ- 

 ten ]^ |2 (Cha-bua), 10, which seems to be a palpable mistake 

 in penmanship. This is the dried petals of this species, and 

 also of an undetermined species of Camelia which flowers in 

 the spring. The Chinese have, from very early times, classed 

 the Camelias with the tea plant, doing so under the generic 

 name of ^(Ch'a). Since the dried petals and leaves of the 

 Jap07iica are sometimes brewed as tea by the natives, one can 

 see how they stumbled upon this classification. The tender, 

 young, needle-shaped petals of the spring blooming variety are 

 most esteemed, while the older ones of the same variety and 

 those of the Japonica are held in less repute. The twigs of 

 the latter are also used under the name of ^ ^ \^^ (Ch'a-chiu- 

 t'iao); the leaves also furnishing the ]ljlj ^ (Tz'ii-ch'a), so 

 called on account of the spiny leaf of this variety. 



Therapeutically, a decoction is used in haemoptysis, 

 hsematemesis, and intestinal hemorrhage ; or the petals are 

 powdered and mixed v/ith ginger juice, child's urine, and wine 

 for the same purpose. The petals, powdered and mixed with 

 linseed oil, make au application considered excellent for scalds 

 and burns. 



Two other probably identical species, Camelia sasanqtia 

 (^ ^ 'j^> Ch'a-mei-hua) and Camelia oleifera ({Ij :^, Shan- 

 ch'a), furnish the " tea -seed-cakes " (^ -^ %^ Ch'a-tzu-ping) 

 and much of the so-called "tea-oil" (:^ ^, Ch'a-yu) of 

 commerce. Large quantities of these products come from the 

 hilly districts of Kiangsi and Hunan. Of the two, a decoction 

 of the former is sometimes used as a demulcent and expec- 

 torant, and it is said to take the place of soap in washing oily 

 clothes. The latter is used as a food and in lamps, and as it 

 is a bland, non-irritating oil, it might be used as a substitute 

 for olive oil in dispensary practice. Shen Tsu-hsi, in his 

 appendix to the Pentsao^ says that the '^ fffj (Ch'a-yu) of 

 Fukien and Kuangtung is not Camelia oil at all, but a product 

 of Corylus nuts, and it therefore ought to be called " filbert-oil." 



CAMELIA THEA or Camelia iheifera,—^ (Ming). By 

 many botanists, the tea plant is considered to belong to a genus 

 distinct from the camelias, to which they give the designation 



