Camellia reticulata - Kunming Botanical Garden - DSC02952

''Camellia reticulata'' (syn. ''C. heterophylla'')
is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the tea

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Theaceae, native to southwestern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

Provinces. It is a loosely branched shrub or small tree, which can grow up to in height. The leaves are elliptic to oblong-elliptic, long and wide. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are in diameter, or larger in some cultivars, soft-pink to deep-pink and rarely almost white, with 5–7 petals or more in some cultivars, and are produced in sub-terminal or axillary positions on the branch. The fruit is a light brown, three-segmented capsule, about in diameter that ripens in the fall This Camellia is very susceptible to cold weather and has a late blooming season; August through October in the southern hemisphere and March through May in the northern hemisphere.

Symbolism and uses

''Camellia reticulata'' is the floral emblem of Yunnan. It has a long history of cultivation, both for tea oil and for its ornamental value. In 1820, Captain Richard Rawes of the

East Indiaman East Indiamen were merchant ships that operated under charter or licence for European trading companies which traded with the East Indies between the 17th and 19th centuries. The term was commonly used to refer to vessels belonging to the Bri ...

''Warren Hastings'' imported the first reticulata to England, (named 'Captain Rawes'). It remained the only known reticulata cultivated in Europe for over a century.

References

reticulata Endemic flora of China Flora of Sichuan Flora of Yunnan Vulnerable plants {{Theaceae-stub