18 Observations on the Camellia, and its Varieties. 



Art. V. Observations on the Camellia, and its Varieties, with 

 some Account of its Introduction into Great Britain and this 

 Country. By M. P. AVilder. 



(Continued from Vol. I, p. 138.) 



Varieties of the Camellia japonica. 



1. Camellia japonica alba simplici. 



Single White. Camellia. 

 This camellia is of strong-, robust growth ; the foliage 

 large, and more deeply veined than almost any other varie- 

 ty ; the flowers are of a pm'e white color, and the formation 

 like the single red. This is one of the very best, either to 

 produce seed, or to cross other kinds with. Of its origin, 

 Messrs. Chandler and Booth remark: "Some persons are 

 of opinion that it was imported from China, but we believe 

 it now more generally known to have been raised from seed 

 of the double stripe, by Mr. Rollison, of the Tooting 

 Nursery." 



2. Camellia japonica rubra semi-duplex. 



Semi-double Red Camellia. 

 This has a flower similar to the single red, except that it 

 has two or more rows of guard petals. 



3. Camellia japonica alba semi-duplex. Chandler^ Booth. 



Palmer''s semi-double White Camellia. 

 The habit and foliage of this plant is said to resemble the 

 pompone and pseony flowered ; the flowers are large, meas- 

 uring four to four and a half inches, furnished with two or 

 three rows of exterior petals of a delicate white color, and 

 filled in the centre with a crowded column of stamina. It is 

 supposed to be a Chinese variety, and to have been intro- 

 duced about 1822. It is seldom to be met with in our col- 

 lections. 



4. Camellia japonica flore pleno alba. 



Double White Camellia. 



Bourbon Camellia. 

 This splendid variety was imported from China into Eng- 

 land in 1792, and is not only one of the oldest, but the most 

 generally admired of all the camellias. The flowers are of a 

 pure snowy white, from three and a half to four and a half 

 inches in diameter, and regularly formed ; the petals being 

 arranged one over the other, in the most regular order to the 

 very centre. It is one of the earliest to come into flower in 

 cultivation, and a large plant will continue to bloom for four 

 or five months. 



