NAT. ORDER. TIIEACE.E. 
89 
All the various kinds of Tea which are imported into this 
country, should come under the denomination of Bohea and 
Green, as it is now generally supposed by learned botanists that 
they are produced from the same species of the plant. Linnaeus, 
however, has described them as specially different, founding the 
distinction in the number of their petals. Others have also ob- 
served, that the leaves of the Tea-plants differ considerably, both 
in form and color ; and this difference we have ourselves frequently 
noticed in the plant, which is occasionally found in flower gardens 
of this country ; but whether these which the gardeners cultivate, 
and sell by the name of Bohea and Green Tea-plants, are to be re- 
garded as permanent varieties, or distinct species, we have not the 
means to decide. De Loureiro has described three species of 
Thea, viz. : Thea cochinchinensis, Tliea cantonensis, and Thea ole- 
osa. The first is a native of Cochin China, where it is cultivated, 
and used medicinally in hot weather, as a sudorific and refrigerant. 
The Thea oleosa grows wild in the neighborhood of Canton, where 
an oil obtained from its seeds is used for various domestic purposes. 
The Thea cantonensis, which Loureiro carefully examined in its 
native soil, was found to bear a close resemblance to another var- 
iety, called Siao chong cha, and by us Souchong. Both these are 
brown, but more fragrant and valuable than the common green 
Tea, which grows in the province of Fo Men. Notwithstanding 
that this author has described the three -species of Thea above 
mentioned, he says, that on examining the dried flowers of the 
green Tea, brought from the province of Kiang si, he observed a 
great diversity in the number of the parts of the calyx and co- 
rolla : hence, he concludes that all the various Chinese Teas are 
taken from the same botanical species, and that the different flavor 
and appearance of Teas depend upon the nature of the soil, the 
culture, and method of preparing the leaves. 
The opinion, which is founded on the sportive tendency of 
the flowers of the Tea-plant, cleai'ly shows the fallacy of distin- 
