CAMELLIA 



CAMELLIA 



225 



CAMELLIA (after George Joseph Kamel or Camellus, 

 a Moravian Jesuit,who traveled in Asia in the seventeenth 

 century). Ternttrami&ceat. Evergreen trees or shrubs: 

 Ivs. alternate, short-petioled, serrate: Ms. 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,dHiis- 

 cent capsule, with 

 large, globular or 

 ovoid seeds. About 

 10 species in trop.and 

 subtrop. Asia, di- 

 vided into the sub- 

 genera JSucamellia 

 and Thea, considered 

 by some to be distinct 

 genera, by some all 

 united under Thea. 

 The species of Eu- 



328. Camellia 



Japonica 

 Abby Wilder 



camellia, especially C. 

 Japonica, are popular 

 decorative shrubs, with 

 very showy fls. About 50 

 years ago one of the most 

 appreciated greenhouse 329 - Camellia 

 shrubs, and several hun- Japonica 

 dred varieties were culti- Lucida. 

 vated. 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, Camellieae 

 ( 1831 ) ; Berlese, Monogr.du genre Camellia 

 a (1839); Verschaffelt, Nouvelle Mono- 

 graphic du Camellia (1848-60): the last 

 with 576 and the foregoing with 300 colored 

 plates. 



A. Fls. sessile, erect, terminal and axil- 

 lary; 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 type, 3-5 in. across ; petals 5-7, round- 

 ish. China, Japan. B.M. 42. S.Z. 82. F.S. 20: 2121.- 

 Var. alba, Lodd. Fls. white. L.B.C. 7:636. Gn. 54, p. 

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

 3: 2ii<). Var. anemonifldra, Curtis. Fls. red, with 5 large 

 petals, the stamens changed into numerous smaller and 

 narrow petals; the whole fl. resembling that of a double 

 Anemone. L.B.C. 537. B.M. 1654. For the numerous 

 other garden forms, see the above mentioned mono- 

 graphs ; also, Flore des Serres, L'lllustration 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, loosely arranged. China. 

 B.R. 13:1078. B.M. 2784. P.M. 3: 101. -Var. plena, 

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

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



Sasanqua, 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, l%-3 in. long: 

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

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

 red vars.). Var. semiplena, Hort. Fls. semidouble, 

 white. B.R. 1:12 and 13:1091. Var. anemonifldra, Seem. 

 Fls. large, double, outer petals white, inner ones much 

 smaller, yellow. B.M. 5152. Var. oleifera, Rehd. ( 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. fls. pedicel led, nodding, mostly axillary: calyx- 

 teeth persistent. Thea. 



Thea, Link. (C. theifera, 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 

 l^in. broad; petals 5. China, India. Usually two varie- 

 ties are distinguished: Var. Bohda (Thea Bohea, Linn.). 

 Lvs. elliptic, dark green, to 3 in. long: branches erect. 

 B.M. 998. L.B.C. 3: 226. Var. viridis (Thea 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. axilldris, Roxb.= Grordonia anomala. C. drupifera, Lour. 

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

 fls. l%in. wide, fragrant, white: petals obovate. Himal., India. 

 L.B.C. 19:1815. C. euryoides, Lindl. (Thea euryoides, Booth). 

 Shrub to 4 ft.: Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, silky beneath : fls. white, 

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

 C. euryoides, Hort.= C. rosiflora, var. maliflora. C. rosiflbra. 

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

 nate : fls. pink ; petals 5, obcordate : ovary glabrous. China. 

 B.M. 5U44. Var. maliflora, Rehd. (C. maliflora, Lindl.). Fls. 



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 



Camellia 

 Japonica 

 H. 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 

 F. 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-manure, 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 



Japonica 

 President Clark. 



