Camellia japonica, known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of Camellia, a flowering plant genus in the family Theaceae. There are thousands of cultivars of C. japonica in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flowers. In the U.S. it is sometimes called japonica. In the wild, it is found in mainland China (Shandong, east Zhejiang), Taiwan, southern Korea and southwestern Japan. It grows in forests, at altitudes of around .
The leaves of this species are rich in anti-inflammatory terpenoids such as lupeol and squalene.
Description
Camellia japonica is a flowering tree or shrub, usually tall, but occasionally up to tall. Some cultivated varieties achieve a size of 72 m2 or more. The youngest branches are purplish brown, becoming grayish brown as they age.
The alternately arranged leathery leaves are dark green on the top side, paler on the underside, usually long by wide with a stalk (petiole) about long. The base of the leaf is pointed (cuneate), the margins are very finely toothed (serrulate) and the tip somewhat pointed.
C. japonica leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, such as the engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia).
Flower
In the wild, flowering is between January and March. The flowers appear along the branches, particularly towards the ends, and have very short stems. They occur either alone or in pairs, and are across.
There are about nine greenish bracteoles and sepals. Flowers of the wild species have six or seven rose or white petals, each long by wide; the innermost petals are joined at the base for up to a third of their length. (Cultivated forms often have more petals.) The numerous stamens are long, the outer whorl being joined at the base for up to . The three-lobed style is about long.
The Japanese white eye bird (Zosterops japonica) pollinates Camellia japonica.
Fruit
The fruit consists of a globe-shaped capsule with three compartments (locules), each with one or two large brown seeds with a diameter of . Fruiting occurs in September to October in the wild.
Taxonomy
The genus Camellia was named after a Jesuit priest and botanist named Georg Kamel. The specific epithet japonica was given to the species by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 because Engelbert Kaempfer was the first to give a description of the plant while in Japan.
Two varieties are distinguished in the Flora of China: C. japonica var. japonica and C. japonica var. rusticana
Camellia japonica var. japonica
C. japonica var. japonica is the form named by Linnaeus, and naturally occurs in forests at altitudes of in Shandong, eastern Zhejiang in mainland China and in Taiwan, south Japan, and South Korea. The leaf has a glabrous stem (petiole) about long. The bracteoles and sepals are velutinous (velvety). It flowers between January and March, and fruits in between September and October. It is grown as a garden plant in the form of many cultivars throughout the world.
Camellia japonica var. rusticana
Camellia japonica var. rusticana (Honda) T. L. Ming naturally occurs in forests in Zhejiang (island of Zhoushan Qundao) in mainland China and in Honshu, Japan. The leaf has a shorter petiole, about long, with fine hairs (pubescent) at the base. The bracteoles and sepals are smooth (glabrous) on the outside. The color of the flowers ranges from red through rose to pink, flowering in April to May. This variety is regarded by some botanical authorities to be a separate species: Camellia rusticana.
In Japan it is known by the common name "yuki-tsubaki" (snow camellia) as it naturally occurs in areas of heavy snowfall at altitudes ranging from down to on sloping land under deciduous beech trees in the mountain regions to the north of the main island of Honshu and facing the Sea of Japan. In December heavy drifts of snow come in from the north, covering the plants to a depth of up to . The bushes remain covered by snow from December till the end of March when the snow melts in early Spring and the camellias start flowering.
Cultivars of C. japonica var. rusticana include: 'Nishiki-kirin', 'Nishiki-no-mine', 'Toyo-no-hikari' and 'Otome'.
History
China
Camellia japonica has appeared in paintings and porcelain in China since the 11th century. Early paintings of the plant are usually of the single red flowering type. However, a single white flowering plant is shown in the scroll of the Four Magpies of the Song Dynasty.
Australia
The first records of camellias in Australia pertain to a consignment to Alexander Macleay of Sydney that arrived in 1826 and were planted in Sydney at Elizabeth Bay House.