Camellia] XVI. TERE-STEGEMIACEJS 01 



A. Mowers nodding, capsule supported by the persistent sepals. 



1. C. Thea, Link; Brand. F. FL 25. — Syn. O. Bohea^ GrifEtii, the China 

 planty and C theifera, Griffith, the indigenous ilssam plant; C fheiftra^ M. 

 Brit. Ind. i. 292; Thea sinensis (not chlnensis), Linn. Sp. Plant, llic Tea 

 plant. Vern. Letpet^ Burm. 



A shrub or small tree, glabrous or slightly pubescent. M. solitary^ peduncles 

 with a few distinct bracts, sometimes a second flower in the axil of one of them. 

 Sepals round, very obtuse. Petals white, obovate, obtuse, glabrous or pubescent 

 on the back. Stamens glabrous, ovary villous, styles 3 glabrous, connate 

 beyond the middle. Capsule depressed, 3-cornered, B-seeded. Testa hard, 

 shining. 



Indigenous in Upper Assam (discovered 1834) and in the hilly counti-y to the east of 

 it (the Assam plant has larger more acuminate leaves, and liab a more arlK^rnscent habit 

 than the shrub cultivated in China). AlbO indigenous in Upper Burmaj Katha distri(*t, 

 2,000 ft., Euby Mines district, 7,000 ft., and the northern Shan States, rultivated ages 

 ago in China and Japan. Since 1840 cultivated extensively in Assam, ra< har, Sikkini, 

 the N.W. Himalaya and the Nilgiris. Grown in Ceylon on a large scale. ]?l C. S. 



2. C. caudata, Wall. ; Kurz, F. M. i. 108. 



A small tree with a spreading crown, branchlets, petioles and under side of 

 leaves hairy. Leaves 3-4 in., lanceolate, long-acuminate. M. |-I iu. diam., 

 white, 2-3 together, peduncles short, covered with imbricating bracts, sepals 

 and petals silky outside. Stamens clothed with long hairs, ovar}^ and styles 

 hairy. Capsule f in. diam., 1-celied, 1-seeded. 



Bhutan, Khasi hills, Burma, hills east of Toungoo. FL November-March. 



B. Flowers erect, sepals deciduous. 



3. C. drupifera, Lour. — Syn. 0. Kissi^ Wall., As. Eesearches xiii. 480, and 

 PL As. Rar. t. 256. Vern. Eingua^ Nep. ; Letpet^ Burm. 



A large shrub or small tree, branches spreading, branchlets and petioles 

 more or less hairy. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate, serrulate in the upper 

 half, 3-4 in. long, secondary nerves 6-8 pair, faint. FL white, erect, on short 

 peduncles, bearing broad silky imbricating bracts, solitary or 2-3. Petals 

 obovate, f-1 in. long, falling soon after floweiing. Stamens 70-80, glabrous, 

 ^ in. long, filaments free, dilated below. Ovary hairy, style glabrous, in the 

 upper half 2-3-fid, ovary and style \ in. long. Capsule nearly 1 in, diam., 

 depressed-globose, peduncle marked hj the scars of bracts and sepals. 



Himalaya, from Nepal eastwards, 4,000-7,000 ft., Assam, Khasi hills. Burma, hills 

 east of Toungoo, 2,000 ft., Buhy Mines hills, 6,000 ft. FL 0. S. 



Closely allied is 4. C- caduca, C. B. Clarke MSS., Khasi hills, above the Bishop ^s falls 

 in large quantity in the river hed on rocks and sand submerged during floods. Bhutan, 

 Sikkim. Leaves narrower, on both sides minutely wrinkled, secondary nerves quit** 

 obscure. Fl. much smaller, petals J in., cuneate, emarginate, vei'y early caducous. 

 Stamens J-J in., outer series 30, filaments in their lower half united into a tube, inner 

 series 6--10, free. Capsule pyriform, pointed, | in. 5. C. lutescens, Byei-, Mishmi hills, 

 a shrub. Leaves 2-3^ in., caudate-acuminate, closely serrate, secondary nerves 6-H 

 pair, distinct. I'l. fragrant, white, turning yellow. Stamens 20-30, filaments broad, 

 the outer combined into a short irregular fleshy tube. Ovary globose, densely silky, 

 styles short, recurved, 



10. ACTINIDIA, Lindl. ; FL Brit. Ind. i. 285. 



Climbing shrubs, structure of wood normal, vessels very large. Leaves 

 membranous. M. polygamous or dioecious, in axillary cymes. Sepals 5, petals 

 5, imbricate. Stamens oo, free, anthers versatile. Ovary cells numerous, 

 styles as many as cells, divergent, elongated after flowering. I'ruit fleshy, 

 embryo straight in copious albumen. Species 10, China, Japan, and eastern 

 Himalaya. 



