Okder 27.— ,CAMBLLIACE^. 273 



Oedeb XXVII. CAMELLIACKiE. Camellias or Teawobts. 



Trees or shrubs with alternate, simple, feather-veined, exstipulate kaves. Flowers 



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



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



or five sets. Anthers 2-celled. Seeds few, with little or no albumen, cotyledons 



large. 



Genera S3, fpecies 130. Beautiful flowering plants, 60 or 70 of them natives of B. America, 4 



i of N. America, tlie remainder of Gliina and E. Indies. Tlleir properties are stimulating and 



1 sliglltly narcotic. The tea, so extensively'used as a beveVage in the civilized world is tlie leaf of 



t 2 or 3 species of Thea. In contains a peculiar extr.activo matter called tbeine, and a stimulating, 



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



two species which yield all the v.arieties of Chinese teas, according to the various methods of 



preparing the leaves. 



arSEEA. 



§ Calyx of manyimbricated sepals. Stamens raonadelpbous Camellia. 1 



§ Calyx simple. — Stamens united at b'.ase into one set STirAitxiA. 2 



— Stamens in 5 sets, adhering to the base t)f the petals Gordonia. 3 



1. CAMELLIA, L. Tea Kose. (In honor of G. J. ICamel, 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 8 to 5, acutf. — 

 Ornamental shrubs, native of China and Japan. 



C. Japonioa L. Japan Kose. Lvs. ovate, acuminate, acutely serrate, glatrous 

 and shining on both sides, coriaceous and firm, on short petioles ; fls. terminal and 

 mostly solitary ; petals obovate, of a firm texture ; sta. atout 50, mostly changed 

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

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

 protection at the North. Fls. varying from wliite to red, resembhng the rose, but 

 wanting its fragi-auoo. Over 300 varieties are enumerated. 



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

 of Bute.) Sepals 6 (or 6), ovate or lanceolate; petals 5 (or 6), ob- 

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

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

 showy,- fragrant, axillary, nearly sessile flowers. 



1 S. Virgmica Cav. Sep. ovate; sta. dark purple; sty. united into one with a 

 S-U)bed stigma. — Woods, middle country, Pla. to Va. A beautiful shrub, 8 to 12f 

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

 muoronate-serrulate, 2' long, J as wide. Petals white, nearly 2' in length, slightly 

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

 Malachodendron L.) 



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

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

 lands, Ky. (Rock Castle and Madison counties) to Ga. A handsome shrub, 10 to 

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

 nate,serrate, 3 to 4' long, J as wide. Petals as large as in No. 1, quite silky pu- 

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

 colored). Caps. 5-angled. 



3. GORDONIA, Ellis. LoblolltBat. (In honor of JbiTOes fforaore, 

 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, S-celled ; seeds 

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

 pedunculate flowers. 



