Camellia x williamsii 'China Clay'

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Theaceae

Shrubs or trees , evergreen or rarely deciduous, usually bisexual , rarely dioecious (Eurya) or androdioecious (Ternstroemia) . Stipules absent. Leaves simple , alternate, petiolate or rarely sessile; leaf blade secondary veins pinnate, margin usually serrate or rarely entire. Flowers axillary or subterminal , solitary or sometimes to 3(-10 or more) in a cluster or raceme , pedicellate or subsessile . Bracteoles 2-8 or rarely more, persistent or caducous , sometimes undifferentiated from sepals. Sepals 5(or 6) or rarely more, persistent. Corolla white, red, or yellow; petals 5 or rarely more, basally connate or rarely distinct , adnate to androecium. Stamens numerous , in 1-6 whorls; outer filaments basally ± connate; anthers dorsifixed or basifixed , 2-loculed, laterally and longitudinally dehiscent . Gynoecium 3-5-carpellate. Carpels connate or rarely incompletely connate to nearly distinct. Ovary superior, rarely half inferior, 3-5-loculed, placentation axile or rarely nearly basal; ovules 2-5(to ca. 100) or more per locule; styles distinct to basally connate, rarely completely united . Fruit a loculicidal capsule or indehiscent and drupaceous or baccate , with 1 to many seeds per locule; pericarp woody, leathery, or fleshy ; columella persistent or ± degenerating. Seeds globose , semiglobose, compressed oblong , ovoid , or reniform , winged or wingless; testa bony, leathery, or sometimes with a fleshy red outer layer or sarcotesta (in Anneslea and Ternstroemia), smooth or honeycombed ; hilum umbilicate or linear ; endosperm present or absent; embryo large or small; cotyledons fleshy or thin.

About 19 genera and 600 species: tropical and subtropical Africa, tropical America, E, S, and SE Asia, SE North America, Pacific islands; 12 genera (two endemic) and 274 species (204 endemic) in China.

The greatest species diversity of Theaceae is in S China and adjacent SE Asia.

The two subfamilies of Theaceae used here are sometimes treated as separate families (Theaceae and Ternstroemiaceae) .

[1]

Genus Camellia

Shrubs or small trees , rarely large trees, evergreen . Leaves petiolate or rarely sessile and amplexicaul ; leaf blade leathery to thinly leathery, margin serrate, serrulate , or rarely entire. Flowers axillary or subterminal , solitary or rarely to 3 in a cluster . In C. subg. Thea flowers clearly pedicellate ; bracteoles differentiated from sepals, 2-10, spirally arranged , persistent or caducous ; sepals 5(or 6), persistent, distinct or basally connate . In C. subg. Camellia flowers apparently sessile, actually with a short stout pedicel completely covered by bracteoles and sepals at anthesis ; bracteoles and sepals not differentiated, ca. 10, caducous or persistent. Petals 5-8(-12), white, red, or yellow, basally ± connate. Stamens numerous , in 2-6 whorls; outer filament whorl basally ± connate into a tube and adnate to petals; anthers dorsifixed , 2-loculed, longitudinally and laterally cleft . Ovary superior, 3-5-loculed, placentation axile . Capsule globose or oblate , 3-5-loculed, sometimes reduced to 1- or 2-loculed by abortion , loculicidal into (1-) 3-5 valves from apex; columella persistent or lacking. Seeds globose, semiglobose, or polygonal; testa hornlike; hilum umbilicate ; cotyledons full and fleshy with high oil content; endosperm absent.

About 120 species: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, NE India, Indonesia, S Japan, S Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam; 97 species (76 endemic) in China.

Some of the varieties of Camellia used in this treatment may represent extremes in a range of variation that in reality is continuous and would be better treated by just describing the pattern of variation within an overall species. Additional study may show that fewer varieties are justified in being recognized than are represented in the present treatment.

The main economic value of Camellia is the production of tea made from the young leaves of C. sinensis var. sinensis and C. sinensis var. assamica. The next most economically important species is C. oleifera which has the longest history of cultivation and utilization in China for oil, used primarily in cooking, extracted from its seeds. Other species used locally for seed oil production include C. chekiangoleosa, C. drupifera, and C. reticulata.

Camellia species are of great ornamental value, especially C. japonica, C. reticulata, and C. sasanqua Thunberg, with by far the greatest number of named cultivars being those of C. japonica, although many other species have ornamental potential. Other species have been used ornamentally for hybridization, particularly with C. japonica, to incorporate desirable characteristics such as the yellow petal color of C. petelotii, the frost hardiness of C. oleifera, or the fragrance of C. grijsii and C. lutchuensis. The species C. hiemalis Nakai, C. maliflora Lindley, C. rosiflora Hooker, C. sasanqua, and C. uraku Kitamura were treated in FRPS (49(3) . 1998) but occur in China only as cultivated plants and are therefore not treated here.[2]

Taxonomy

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Domain: Eukaryota () - Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Plantae () - Haeckel, 1866 - Plants
  - Subkingdom: Viridaeplantae () - Cavalier-Smith, 1981
    - Phylum: Tracheophyta () - Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - Vascular Plants
      - Subphylum: Euphyllophytina ()
        Infraphylum: Radiatopses () - Kenrick & Crane, 1997
        Class: Spermatopsida () - Brongniart, 1843
        Subclass: Asteridae () - Takhtajan, 1967
        Superorder: Theanae () - Thorne Ex Reveal, 1993
        Order: Ericales () - Dumortier, 1829
        Family: Theaceae () - Mirb. ex Ker Gawl., 1816, nom. cons. - tea
        Tribe: Theeae ()
        Genus: Camellia () - C. Linnaeus, 1753 - Camellia
        Specific epithet: x illiamsii 'China Clay'
        Cultivar: China Clay
        Botanical name: - Camellia × williamsii 'China Clay' W.W. Sm.

Notes

Parentage: 'J.C. Williams' × 'Marjorie Magnificent'

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Camellia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 290 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed March 27, 2012.

Identifiers

Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1830350

Footnotes

Tianlu Min & Bruce Bartholomew "Theaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 364, 365, 366. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
"Camellia". in Flora of China Vol. 12 Page 366, 367. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]

Camellia x williamsii 'China Clay'

Interesting Facts

Description

Family Theaceae

Genus Camellia

Taxonomy

Notes

Similar Species

Members of the genus Camellia

More Info

Further Reading

Notes

Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes