''Camellia azalea'', native to the Ehuangzhang Provincial Nature Reserve in Yangchun City,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, is a national first-class protected plant in China. The Chinese name of ''Camellia azalea'' is 杜鹃叶山茶/Rhododendron leaf camellia (dù juān yè shān chá), because of its rhododendron-like leaf shape. Compared with other camellia species, the flower of ''Camellia azalea'' is more like Rhododendron, so it is commonly known as 杜鹃红山茶/Rhododendron red camellia. It is also commonly known as 四季紅山茶/Four Seasons Red Camellia or 四季茶花/Four Seasons Camellia, because it can flower throughout the year, July-September is the most prosperous period of flowering, which is different from the habit of Camellia flowering in winter.
It is a small tree or an evergreen shrub, and grows up to 4 meters tall. The plant tends to grow bright red flowers that can be found in clusters of 1 to 5 and of a size of 9-10cm in diameter.
''Camellia azalea'' is a
Critically Endangered species.
References
Flora of China
azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Octob ...
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