Oeder 21.— CAMELLIACBjB. 278 



« 

 Order XXVII. CAMELLIACEJE. Camellias or Teaworts. 



Trees or ahruis with alternate, simple, feather-veined, exstipulate lewnes. Flowers 



regular, polyandrous, hypogynous, cyanic, with sepals and peiais imbricated, the 



former often unequal in size. Stamens more or leas coherent at base into one, three 



or five seta. Anthers 2-cell6d. Seeds few, with little or no albumen, cotyledons 



large. 



Oemera 88, species 180. Beautiful flowering plants, 60 or 70 of them natives of S. America, 4 

 of N. America, tlio remainder of Cliina and E. Indies. Ttlelr properties arc stimulating antl 

 fcligbtly narcotic. The tea, so extensively used as .i beverage in the civilized world is the leaf of 

 2 or 3 species of The.a. In contain.') a peculiar extractive matter called theine, and a stimulating;, 

 frttsentiai oil, which becomes narcotic in some hot climates. Thea Bohea and T. viridis are the 

 two species which yield all the varieties of Chinese teas, according to the various methods of 

 preparing tho leaves. 



GFNEKA. 



§ Calyx of many Imbricated sepals. Stamens monadelphons Camellia. 1 



g C-ilys simple. — Stamens united at base into ono set Stuabtia. 2 



— Stamens in 5 sets, adhering to the base of the petals Goedokia. 3 



1. CAMELLIA, L. Tea Rose. (In honor of G. J. Kamel, a Jesuit, 

 author of some botanical works.) Sepals many, imbricated, the inner 

 ones larger; petals sometimes adhering at base; filaments oo, shorter 

 than the corolla, united at base ; styles united ; stigmas 3 to 5, acute. — 

 Ornamental shrubs, native of China and Japan. 



C. Jap6nica L. Japan Rose. Lva. ovate, acuminate, acutely serrate, glabrouB 

 aud shining on both sides, coriaceous and firm, on short petiolea ; fis. terminal and 

 mostly solitary ; petals obovate, of a firm texture ; ata. about 50, mostly changed 

 to petals in cultivation ; stig. unequally 5-cleft. — A lofty tree in Japan, ita native 

 country, a splendid flowering shrub with us, hardy at the South, but requiring 

 protection at the North. Fls. varying from white to red, resembling tho rose, but 

 wanting ita fragrance. Over 300 varieties are enumerated. 



5. STUARTIA, Catesby. (In honor of John Stuart, the Marquis 

 of Bute.) Sepals 5 (or 6), ovate or lanceolate ; petals 6 (or 6), ol> 

 ovate, crenulate ; stamens monadelphons at base ; capsule 6-cellcd, 5 or 

 10-seeded, seeds ascending. — Shrubs with deciduous leaves and large, 

 showy, fragrant, axillary, nearly sessile flowers. 



Z S. Virgfnica Cav. Sep. ovate; sta. dark purple; sly. united, into one with a 

 5-lobed stigma. — "Woods, middle country. Ma. to Va. A beautiful shrub, 8 to 1 2f 

 high. Lva. elliptic-ovate, acuminate at both ends, silky -pubescent beneath, slightly 

 mucrouate-serrulate, 2' long, J as wide. Petals white, nearly 2' in length, shghtly 

 pubescent beneath, strongly contrasted with the short, dark stamens. May. (8. 

 Malachodendron L.) 



2 S. pentag^na L'Ser. Sep. lanceolate; stam. colored like the petals, very- 

 numerous ; sty. 5, distinct, as Img as the stamens. — Woods along streams in high- 

 lands, Ky. (Rook Caatlo and Madison counties) to Ga. A handsome shrub, 10 to 

 15f high. Lvs. thick, glabrous, ovate, acuminate, acute at base, obscurely mucro- 

 nato-serrate, 3 fo 4' long, J as wide. Petals as large aa in No. 1, quite silky pu- 

 bescent beneath, one of them always much the smallest, white (scarcely cream- 

 colored). Caps. 5-angled. 



3. GORDOHIA, Ellis. Loblolly Bay. (In honor of James Goraon, 

 a distinguished nurseryman of London.) Sepals 5, roundish, strongly 

 imbricated ; petals, 5 ; stamens 5-adelphous, one set adhering to each 

 petal at base ; styles united into one ; capsule woody, 5-celled ; seeds 

 2 or more in each cell, pendulous. Trees with large, white, axillary, 

 pedunculate flowers. 



