Motohiro Sunouchi · CC BY 4.0
About
The genus *Camellia sp* is highly popular globally, featuring over 220 species and more than 26,000 cultivated varieties used ornamentally, for tea, and for oil production. The species are notable for their large, fragrant flowers and leathery, evergreen foliage.
Field notes
Morphology
The plants are attractive, broad-leaved, evergreen shrubs, small trees, or rarely large trees, reaching up to 10–15 m tall. They have alternate, leathery leaves with serrate or rarely entire margins. Flowers are typically conspicuous, ranging from 1 to 12 cm in diameter, with five to nine petals, and are characterized by a dense bouquet of yellow stamens. The fruit is a woody, 1-5-locular, globose or oblate, loculicidal capsule.
Distribution & habitat
Species are widespread across moist or dry, temperate to tropical forests, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East Himalaya, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam, at elevations of 0–3200 m above sea level.
Cultivation notes
The species are generally well-adapted to acid soils rich in humus and require a large amount of water, though some varieties from karst soils in Vietnam tolerate drought. They are slow-growing, making them suitable for pots, and do not require frequent pruning.
History & etymology
The genus was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, named after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel. The type species is *Camellia japonica* L.
Conservation
Many species are threatened with extinction, and several are classified as critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), or vulnerable (VU).
Habitat
- Altitude
- —
- Altitude Class
- —
Cultivation
- Difficulty
- intermediate
Crossed Camellia with another species?
Register the cross — if it's not yet documented you'll be the first contributor. If someone already registered it, you'll be redirected to add your photo.