Posted on by ptl_life

Plant: Camellia japonica 山茶花

Family 科Scientific Name 學名Origin 原產地
Theaceae 山茶科Camellia japonicaSouth Korea and Japan

When I review the photos of camellia I took in the past, I found that many of the photos are camellia japonica especially many mixed-color ones. I am always attracted by their uniqueness unconsciously.  Each flower seems like it was created by the hands of an artist.
當我回顧過去我照的茶花照片，我發現許多照片都是山茶花，尤其是許多混色的茶花，我總是不自覺的被它們的獨特性吸引住，每一朵都好像出自藝術家之手。

Photo Date: Various dates Location: Various locations

Information/Facts

  • Camellia japonica, known as common camellia, Japanese camellia, or tsubaki in Japanese. Sometimes called the rose of winter. In the U.S. it is sometimes called japonica, a name more often used in the UK for Chaenomeles (flowering quince).
  • 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.
  • There are more than two thousands of cultivars of C. japonica in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flowers. 
  • In the wild, it is found in mainland China (Shandong, east Zhejiang), Taiwan, southern Korea and southern Japan. It grows in forests, at altitudes of around 300–1,100 metres (980–3,610 ft).
  • It is the official state flower of the US state of Alabama. 
  • History and culture:
    • Camellia japonica has appeared in paintings and porcelain in China since the 11th century.
    • Camellias are seen as lucky symbols for the Chinese New Year and spring and were even used as offerings to the gods during the Chinese New Year. It is also thought that Chinese women would never wear a Camellia in their hair because it opened much later after the bud formed. This was thought to signify that she would not have a son for a long time.
    • 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. In 1838 six C. japonica plants were imported by the botanist, horticulturist and agriculturist William Macarthur. During the years that followed he brought in several hundred varieties and grew them at Camden Park Estate.
    • The camellias of Campo Bello (Portugal) are the oldest known specimens in Europe, which would have been planted around 1550. The oldest trees of Camellia japonica in Europe can be found in Campobello (Portugal), Caserta (Italy) and Pillnitz (Germany). These were probably planted at the end of the 16th century.
    • In the U.S., camellias were first sold in 1807 as greenhouse plants, but were soon distributed to be grown outdoors in the south. In Charleston, South Carolina, the estate garden of Magnolia-on-the-Ashley introduced hundreds of new Camellia japonica cultivars from the 19th century onwards.
  • The leaf of the Camellia japonica is rich in anti-inflammatory terpenoids such as lupeol and squalene.
  • 山茶花，在日本被稱為普通山茶，日本山茶或椿。 有時稱為冬天的玫瑰。在美國，它有時被稱為日本山茶，在英國更常被稱為日本海棠（貼梗海棠）。(註:根據維基百科, 山茶花古名海石榴。有玉茗花、耐冬等別名，日語稱作椿，在韓語中也被叫做冬柏花)。
  • 茶花屬以耶穌會神父和植物學家喬治·卡梅爾（Georg Kamel）的名字命名。 卡爾·林奈（Carl Linnaeus）在1753年將特定的稱謂山茶花給予了此物種。
  • 有兩千多種日本山茶花栽培品種，有許多顏色和形式的花。
  • 中國大陸（山東，浙江東部），台灣，韓國南部和日本南部可看到野生種。 它生長在海拔約300–1,100公尺（980–3,610英尺）的森林中。
  • 它是美國阿拉巴馬州的官方州花。
  • 歷史及文化:
    • 自11世紀以來，山茶已經出現在中國的繪畫和瓷器中。
    • 茶花被視為農曆新年和春季的幸運標誌，甚至在農曆新年期間被用作祭祀神靈。 人們還認為，中國婦女永遠不會在頭髮上戴山茶花，因為它在花蕾形成後很晚才開放。 人們認為這表示她有很長一段時間都不會有兒子。
    • 最早澳大利亞的山茶花的記錄是與一批於1826年運往雪梨的亞歷山大·麥克萊（Alexander Macleay）的一批托運貨物有關，山茶花種植在雪梨的伊麗莎白灣故居。1838年，植物學家，園藝家和農業學家William Macarthur進口了六種日本山茶花。 在隨後的幾年中，他帶來了數百種品種，並在Camden Park Estate種植了它們。
    • 坎波貝洛（葡萄牙）的山茶花是歐洲已知的最古老的標本，大約在1550年就栽種了。歐洲的山茶花的最古老的樹木可以在坎波貝洛（葡萄牙），卡塞塔（意大利）和皮爾尼茨（德國）找到。 這些可能是在16世紀末種植的。
    • 在美國，山茶花於1807年首次作為溫室植物出售，但很快就分到南方的戶外種植。在南卡羅來納州的查爾斯頓，Ashley木蘭的莊園花園引入了自19世紀以來的數百種新茶花栽培品種。
  • 茶花的葉子富含抗發炎的萜烯類化合物，如羽扇豆醇和角鯊烯。

Reference

Words of the Day

Let’s celebrate Lunar New Year Festivities and the month of Adar with joy.
讓我們快樂地慶祝農曆春節及亞達月。

Isaiah 61:10
I delight greatly in the Lord;
 my soul rejoices in my God.
 For he has clothed me
with garments of salvation
 and arrayed me in a robe of
his righteousness,
 as a bridegroom adorns his head
like a priest,
 and as a bride adorns herself
with her jewels.
以賽亞書 61:10
 
我因耶和華大大歡喜；
 我的心靠神快樂。

 因他以拯救為衣
給我穿上，
 以公義為袍給我披上，

 好像新郎戴上華冠，
 又像新婦佩戴妝飾。

Camellia related posts:

Leave a comment

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started