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Camellia
''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species, with some controversy over the exact number, and 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). Of economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, leaves of '' C. sinensis'' are processed to create the popular beverage tea. The ornamental '' C. japonica'', '' C. sasanqua'' and their hybrids are the source of hundreds of garden cultivars. '' C. oleifera'' produces tea seed oil, used in cooking and cosmetics. Descriptions Camellias are evergreen shrubs or small trees up to tall. Their leaves are alternately arranged ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camellia Japonica
''Camellia japonica'', known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of flowering plant 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 . Camellias are famous throughout East Asia; they are known as ''tsaa4 faa1'' (, lit. "tea flower") in Cantonese, ''cháhuā'' () in Mandarin Chinese, ''tsubaki'' () in Japanese, ''dongbaek-kkot'' () in Korean, and as ''hoa trà'' or ''hoa chè'' in Vietnamese. 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camellia Sinensis
''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (not to be confused with '' Melaleuca alternifolia'', the source of tea tree oil, or the genus ''Leptospermum'' commonly called tea tree). White tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong, dark tea (which includes pu-erh tea) and black tea are all harvested from one of two major varieties grown today, ''C. sinensis'' var. ''sinensis'' and ''C. s.'' var. ''assamica'', but are processed differently to attain varying levels of oxidation with black tea being the most oxidized and green being the least. Kukicha (twig tea) is also harvested from ''C. sinensis'', but uses twigs and stems rather than leaves. Nomenclature and taxonomy The generic name ''Camellia'' is taken from the Latinized name of Rev. Georg Kamel, SJ (1661–1706), a Moravian-bor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camellia Sasanqua
''Camellia sasanqua'', with common name sasanqua camellia, is a species of ''Camellia'' native to China and Japan. It is usually found growing up to an altitude of 900 metres. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 5 m tall. The leaves are broad elliptic, 3–7 cm long and 1.2–3 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are 5–7 cm diameter, with 5–8 white to dark pink petals. History and uses At the beginning of the Edo period, cultivars of ''Camellia sasanqua'' began appearing; the first record of the cultivars of this plant was made by Ihei Ito (1695–1733). In Japan, it is not considered to be a true Camellia as the Japanese call it Sazanka (, ). ''Camellia sasanqua'' was not known in western societies until in 1820 Captain Richard Rawes of the East Indiaman ''Warren Hastings'' brought ''Camellia sasanqua'' var. ''stricata'' to his relation, Thomas Carey Palmer, of Bromley in Kent. Then in 1869, Dutch traders imported some specimens into Eu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camellia Oleifera
''Camellia oleifera'', which originated in China, is notable as an important source of edible oil (known as tea oil or camellia oil) obtained from its seeds. It is commonly known as the oil-seed camellia or tea oil camellia, though to a lesser extent other species of ''camellia'' are used in oil production too. It is widely distributed in China and is cultivated extensively there. It is found in forests, thickets, banks of streams and foothills at elevations of 500 to 1,300 metres. This species looks much similar to ''Camellia sasanqua'' except the dark green, evergreen leaves are a bit larger, three to five inches long and two to three inches wide. Single, white, fragrant flowers are produced in mid to late fall, and this large shrub or small tree will reach a height of 20 feet with thin, upright, multiple trunks and branches. The crown forms a rounded or oval vase with lower branches removed. Uses The seeds of ''Camellia oleifera'' can be pressed to yield tea seed oil, a sw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theaceae
Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the source and the method of circumscription used. The family Ternstroemiaceae has been included within Theaceae;Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ''Vascular Plant Families and Genera''TheaceaeWatson, L., & Dallwitz, M. J. (1992 onwards). ''The families of flowering plants''/ref> however, the APG III system of 2009 places it instead in Pentaphylacaceae. Most but not all species are native to China and East Asia. Family traits Plants in this family are characterized by simple leaves that are alternate spiral to distichial, serrated, and usually glossy. Most of the genera have evergreen foliage, but ''Stewartia'' and '' Franklinia'' are deciduous. The toothed margins are generally associated with a characteristic Theoid leaf tooth, which is crowned by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tea Seed Oil
Tea seed oil (also known as ''camellia oil'', ''camellia seed oil'', ''teanut oil'') is an edible plant oil. It is obtained from the seeds of ''Camellia oleifera''. ''Camellia sasanqua'' is also given as a source of 'tea seed oil. Description The genus Camellia includes several commercially important species - ''Camellia oleifera'' is grown mainly in China for vegetable oil. The oil is known as 'camellia oil', 'tea seed oil', or 'camellia seed oil'. As of 2016 of ''oleifera'' forest centered on the Yangtze river basin in Hunan, Jiangxi, and Guangxi produces 0.26 million tons of oil. Wild ''Camellia oleifera'' contains ~47% oil, whilst cultivated varieties have shown oil content from 42 to 53%. Oil analysis of cultivated varieties showed : ~76-82% oleic acid; 5-11% linoleic acid; 7.5-10% palmitic acid; 1.5-3% stearic acid - the ratios are similar to that found in wild ''oleifera''. The composition is similar to that of Olive oil. Another analysis of several cultivars found : 82-8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shrubs
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple stems and shorter height, less than tall. Small shrubs, less than 2 m (6.6 ft) tall are sometimes termed as subshrubs. Many botanical groups have species that are shrubs, and others that are trees and herbaceous plants instead. Some definitions state that a shrub is less than and a tree is over 6 m. Others use as the cut-off point for classification. Many species of tree may not reach this mature height because of hostile less than ideal growing conditions, and resemble a shrub-sized plant. However, such species have the potential to grow taller under the ideal growing conditions for that plant. In terms of longevity, most shrubs fit in a class between perennials and trees; some may only last about five ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are some three trillion mature trees in the world. A tree typically has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground by the trunk. This trunk typicall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georg Joseph Kamel
Georg Joseph Kamel (; la, Georgius Josephus Camellus; cz, Jiří Josef Kamel; es, Jorge Camel; 12 April 1661 – 2 May 1706) was a Jesuit missionary, pharmacist and naturalist known for producing the first comprehensive accounts of Philippine flora and fauna and for introducing Philippine nature to the European learned world. A number of Kamel's treatises were published in the ''Philosophical Transactions'', while his descriptions of Philippine flora appeared as an appendix to the third volume of John Ray's '' Historia Plantarum''. Biography Early life Kamel was born on 12 April 1661 in the city of Brno, Moravia now the Czech Republic. His name suggests that he was of German origin. In November 1682 he joined the Society of Jesus as a lay brother and spent his novitiate in Brno. In 1685 he was sent to the Holy Trinity College in Neuhaus where he served as an assistant infirmarian and pharmacist. The Jesuit roster for that year indicated Kamel knew German, Czech and some Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk is common throughout Western Europe, where deposits underlie parts of France, and steep cliffs are often seen where they meet the sea in places such as the Dover cliffs on the Kent coast of the English Channel. Chalk is mined for use in industry, such as for quicklime, bricks and builder's putty, and in agriculture, for raising pH in soils with high acidity. It is also used for " blackboard chalk" for writing and drawing on various types of surfaces, although these can also be manufactured from other carbonate-based minerals, or gypsum. Description Chalk is a fine-textured, earthy type of limestone distinguished by its light color, softness, and high porosity. It is composed mostly of tiny fragments of the calcite shells ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humus
In classical soil science, humus is the dark organic matter in soil that is formed by the decomposition of plant and animal matter. It is a kind of soil organic matter. It is rich in nutrients and retains moisture in the soil. Humus is the Latin word for "earth" or "ground". In agriculture, "humus" sometimes also is used to describe mature or natural compost extracted from a woodland or other spontaneous source for use as a soil conditioner. It is also used to describe a topsoil horizon that contains organic matter (''humus type'', ''humus form'', or ''humus profile''). Humus has many nutrients that improve the health of soil, nitrogen being the most important. The ratio of carbon to nitrogen (C:N) of humus commonly ranges between eight and fifteen with the median being about twelve. It also significantly affects the bulk density of soil. Humus is amorphous and lacks the "cellular cake structure characteristic of plants, micro-organisms or animals". Description The primar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acid Soil
Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the activity of hydronium ions ( or, more precisely, ) in a solution. In soils, it is measured in a slurry of soil mixed with water (or a salt solution, such as ), and normally falls between 3 and 10, with 7 being neutral. Acid soils have a pH below 7 and alkaline soils have a pH above 7. Ultra-acidic soils (pH 9) are rare. Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it affects many chemical processes. It specifically affects plant nutrient availability by controlling the chemical forms of the different nutrients and influencing the chemical reactions they undergo. The optimum pH range for most plants is between 5.5 and 7.5; however, many plants have adapted to thrive at pH values out ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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