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Plant: Camellia 山茶屬

Family 科Scientific Name 學名Origin 原產地
Theaceae 山茶科Camelliaeastern and southern Asia

In February and March, I see camellia start blooming near my house. In the Huntington Library especially I have seen all kinds of camellia which are remarkable. I will write about them in the later posts. The following camellia photos were taken in the past two years. In the past I never thought about learning what kind of camellia they are. I just took photos as long as I think they’re beautiful. Many of them were taken from other people’s yards and there were no labels. So I would not know what species they are. I only know they are camellia. I put some of these random pictures here as an introduction. Do you know there are 100–300 described camellia species and there are also around 3,000 hybrids? No wonder it is hard for me to identify them without seeing the labels.
二、三月在我家附近可以看到不同種的茶花開始開花。特別是在亨廷頓圖書館，更是可以看到各色各樣的茶花，令人眼花撩亂，我將會陸續介紹給你們。以下是我這一、兩年來照的茶花，以前從未想去研究它們是那一種茶花，只要覺得漂亮就隨手照下，而且許多是從別人家的院子照的，沒有標示，所以我只知道它們是茶花，卻無法確認它們的種類，就把它們集中在此，做一個引言。您知道有記述過的山茶種類有100–300種，也有大約3,000種雜交種嗎？難怪我不看標籤就很難辨識它們。

Photo Date: Various dates Location: Various locations

Information/Facts

  • Camellias are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are 100–300 described species. There are also around 3,000 hybrids.
  • The genus was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines and described a species of camellia (although Linnaeus did not refer to Kamel’s account when discussing the genus).
  • Camellias are famous throughout East Asia; they are known as cháhuā (茶花, ‘tea flower’) in Chinese, tsubaki (椿) in Japanese, dongbaek-kkot (동백꽃) in Korean, and as hoa trà or hoa chè in Vietnamese.
  • Camellias are evergreen shrubs or small trees up to 20 m (66 ft) tall. Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous. The colors of the flowers vary from white through pink colors to red; truly yellow flowers are found only in South China and Vietnam. Tea varieties are always white-flowered.
  • There is great variety of flower forms:
    • single (flat, bowl- or cup-shaped)
    • semi-double (rows of large outer petals, with the center comprising mixed petals and stamens)
    • double:
      • paeony form (convex mass of irregular petals and petaloid with hidden stamens)
      • anemone form (one or more rows of outer petals, with mixed petaloid and stamens in the center)
      • rose form (overlapping petals showing stamens in a concave center when open)
      • formal double (rows of overlapping petals with hidden stamens)
  • The so-called “fruit” of camellia plants is a dry capsule, sometimes subdivided in up to five compartments, each compartment containing up to eight seeds.
  • The various species of camellia plants are generally well-adapted to acid soils rich in humus, and most species do not grow well on chalky soil or other calcium-rich soils. Most species of camellias also require a large amount of water, either from natural rainfall or from irrigation. Except the species from karst soils in Vietnam can grow without too much water.
  • Of economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create the popular beverage tea. However, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, in some parts of Japan, tea made from C. sasanqua leaves is popular.
  • The ornamental C. japonica, C. sasanqua and their hybrids are the source of hundreds of garden cultivars. 
  • Tea oil is a sweet seasoning and cooking oil made by pressing the seeds of C. oleifera. Relatively little-known outside East Asia, it is the most important cooking oil for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China.
  • Camellia oil is commonly used to clean and protect the blades of cutting instruments.
  • Camellia oil pressed from seeds of C. japonica, also called tsubaki oil or tsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care. C. japonica plant is used to prepare traditional anti-inflammatory medicines.
  • Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China and Japan for centuries before they were seen in Europe. Europeans’ earliest views of camellias must have been their representations in Chinese painted wallpapers, where they were often represented growing in porcelain pots. The first living camellias seen in England were in 1739.
  • The Camellia family of plants in popular culture.
    • The following cities are nicknamed the “Camellia City” of each state: Greenville, Alabama; Sacramento, California; Fort Walton Beach, Florida; Slidell, Louisiana; McComb, Mississippi; Newberg, Oregon; and, Thomson, Georgia is nicknamed the “Camellia City of the South”.
    • The camellia is the state flower of Alabama.
    • Temple City, California’s slogan since 1944 has been “Temple City, Home of Camellias”, and the city has become well-known for its Camellia Festival.
    • The camellia was a symbol of Brazil’s abolitionist movement during the Imperial Age. It was common practice for abolitionists to plant camellias in a show of solidarity.
    • An Argentinian military march is called “Avenida de las Camelias”.
  • 山茶花分佈在東亞和南亞，從喜馬拉雅山脈東部到日本和印度尼西亞。 有記述過的物種有100–300個。 大約還有3,000個雜交種。
  • 該屬由林奈(Linnaeus)命名，是在菲律賓工作的耶穌會的植物學家喬治·約瑟夫·卡梅爾（Georg Joseph Kamel）描述了一種山茶花之後（儘管林奈在討論該屬時並未提及卡梅爾的敘述）。
  • 山茶花在整個東亞都是聞名遐邇的。 它們在中文中被稱為cháhuā（茶花），在日語中被稱為tsubaki（椿），在韓語中被稱為dongbaek-kkot（동백꽃），在越南語中被稱為hoatrà或hoachè。
  • 山茶花是常綠灌木或不超過20公尺 （66英尺）高的小樹。 它們的花通常大而顯眼。 花的顏色從白色到粉紅色到紅色不等。 真正的黃色花朵僅在華南和越南發現。 茶品種的花總是白花。
  • 花的種類繁多:
    • 單花（扁平，碗形或杯形）
    • 半雙花（成排的大外部花瓣，中心包括混合的花瓣和雄蕊）
    • 雙花
      • 牡丹的形狀（不規則花瓣和花瓣狀的雄蕊具隱雄蕊的凸塊）
      • 銀蓮花形狀（一排或多排外花瓣，中間有花瓣和雄蕊混合）
      • 玫瑰形狀（重疊的花瓣在打開時在凹形的中心顯示雄蕊）
      • 正式的雙花（一排排雄蕊重疊的花瓣）
  • 所謂山茶花植物的“果實”是乾燥的莢膜，有時細分為最多五個隔間，每個隔間最多包含八粒種子。
  • 通常各種山茶花都很適於富含腐殖質的酸性土壤，但大多數物種在白堊土壤或其他富含鈣的土壤上生長不佳。 而且大多數山茶花還需要大量的水，無論是自然降雨還是灌溉用水。 例外的越南的喀斯特土壤中的物種，可以在沒有太多水的情況下生長。
  • 在東亞，東南亞和印巴孟次大陸具有重要的經濟意義，山茶樹的葉子經過加工後可製成了受歡迎的茶飲料。但是，許多其他種山茶也可用於生產類似的飲料。 例如，在日本的某些地區，由茶梅製成的茶很受歡迎。
  • 觀賞用的山茶，茶梅及其雜交種是數百種花園栽培種的來源。
  • 茶油是一種甜的調味料和食用油，它是通過壓製油茶的種子製成的。 在東亞以外相對鮮為人知的是，它是成千上萬人（尤其是中國南部地區）最重要的食用油。
  • 茶花油通常用於清潔和保護切削工具的刀片。
  • 從日本山茶種子中榨取的山茶油，在日本稱為“椿油”，傳統上被用於護髮。山茶的植物用於製備傳統的消炎藥。
  • 在歐洲之前，山茶花已在中國和日本的花園裡種植了幾個世紀了。歐洲人最早對茶花的看法一定是從中國彩繪牆紙中看來的，在這些繪畫中，它們常常是在瓷罐中。1739年在英國才有了第一批活的茶花。
  • 茶花科植物的流行文化。
    • 以下城市被暱稱為每個州的“茶花之城”：阿拉巴馬州格林維爾； 加州薩克拉曼多； 佛羅里達州華爾頓堡灘； 路易斯安那州斯萊德爾； 密西西比州麥康布； 俄勒岡州紐伯格；喬 治亞州的湯姆森被暱稱為“南方的茶花市”。
    • 山茶花是阿拉巴馬州的州花。
    • 自1944年以來，加州天普市的口號一直是“天普市，山茶花之鄉”，這座城市以山茶花節而聞名。
    • 山茶花是帝國時代巴西廢奴運動的象徵。 廢奴主義者為了表示聲援而種植山茶花。
    • 阿根廷的軍事遊行被稱為“山茶花大道”。

Reference

Words of the Day

The camellia flower symbolizes love, devotion, affection, and admiration. The flower can also symbolize refinement, perfection, and faithfulness, depending on the color and context of the bloom. In Japan, the camellia flower is often used in religious ceremonies, as it symbolizes divinity. In Korea, it is also viewed as a symbol of faithfulness.
山茶花象徵著愛，忠誠，情意和欽佩。 根據花朵的顏色和背景，花朵還可以像徵優雅精緻，完美和忠誠。 在日本，山茶花象徵著神性，經常用於宗教儀式中。 在韓國，它也被視為忠誠的象徵。

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is
 love, joy, peace, forbearance,
 kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
 gentleness and self-control.
 Against such things there is no law.
加拉太書 5:22-23
 聖靈所結的果子，
 就是仁愛、喜樂、
 和平、忍耐、恩慈、
 良善、信實、
 溫柔、節制。
 這樣的事沒有律法禁止。

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