CAMELLIA

genus of about 80 species of East Asian evergreen shrubs and trees, belonging to the tea family (Theaceae), most notable for three ornamental flowering species and for C. sinensis (sometimes called Thea sinensis), the source of tea. The common camellia (C. japonica) is the best known, particularly for its double (many-petaled) cultivated varieties, whose overlapping petals range in colour from white through pink to red and variegated. In the wild form five to seven petals surround a mass of yellow stamens, with sepals dropping as the petals open. The tree has glossy green, oval leaves usually about 10 cm (4 inches) long and reaches a height of about 9 m (30 feet). A similar but shorter species, C. reticulata, has flowers to 15 cm (6 inches) wide and dull green leaves. C. sasanqua, a loose straggling shrub with slightly fragrant, 5-centimetre- (2-inch-) wide flowers, can tolerate dryness and alkaline soils. It blooms in autumn and frequently is grown as a wall or hedge plant. The tea plant (C. sinensis) reaches 9 m (30 feet) but in cultivation is kept to a low, mounded shrub, often pruned back to encourage development of young leaves. The flowers are fragrant, yellow-centred, white, and about 4 cm (1.6 inches) wide. See also tea.