''Camellia amplexicaulis'' is a species of flowering tree in the tea family. Originally native to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, it has been considered

extinct in the wild A species that is extinct in the wild (EW) is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as known only by living members kept in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range due ...

since 2018. It is one of two species of trees in the tea family that only exists in cultivation, the other being ''

Franklinia ''Franklinia'' is a monotypic genus in the tea family, Theaceae. The sole species in this genus is a flowering tree, ''Franklinia alatamaha'', commonly called the Franklin tree, and native to the Altamaha River valley in Georgia in the southeast ...

''. It is known in Vietnam as Hải đường. The species was first collected in 1910 in the Tam Đảo region of northern Vietnam. Its habitat was likely tropical and sub-tropical evergreen forests. Although extinct in the wild, it is commonly cultivated in Vietnam and flowers are utilized during the

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán (Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of , ...

festival.

Description

''C. amplexicaulis'' is highly variable in cultivation. The species is a small tree that may grow between 2 and 4 meters tall. Leaves are evergreen, glossy, and clasp the stem. Flowers are pink and emerge in late autumn to early spring. Fruit is round and shiny. Four species were split from ''Camellia amplexicaulis'', including the white-flowered '' Camellia lucii'' in 2015. '' Camellia ingens'', ''

Camellia pyriparva ''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 ...

'' and '' Camellia scabrosa'' were described in 2017.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10771756 amplexicaulis Plants extinct in the wild