''Camellia hongkongensis'' (), the Hong Kong camellia, is a species of ''

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 ...

''.

Description

''Camellia hongkongensis'' is a small

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

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 ...

which can grow to feet tall. Of the camellia species native to Hong Kong, only this species bears red flowers. Its young branches are reddish brown. The leaves are leathery and oblong with 7–13 cm long. The young branches and leaf are glabrous.

Distribution

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, three individuals of the species were first discovered in a ravine in

Victoria Peak Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the highest hill on Hong Kong Island, ranked 29 in terms of elevation in H ...

by Colonel Eyre in 1849. It was later found in

Pok Fu Lam Pok Fu Lam or Pokfulam is a residential area on Hong Kong Island, at the western end of the Southern District. It is a valley between Victoria Peak and Mount Kellett, around Telegraph Bay. Pok Fu Lam can claim several ''firsts'' in the histo ...

Mount Nicholson Mount Nicholson () is a tall mountain located in Wan Chai District, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The hill is believed to be named for Royal Hong Kong Regiment, Hong Kong Volunteer Corps Adjunct Lieutenant W.C.A. Nicholson. The western side of ...

, Mount Parker on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

. It is also found in

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) ...

. Specimens of the Hong Kong camellia are living in the Shing Mun Arboretum public gardens. In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under

Forestry Regulations Cap. 96A The Forests and Countryside Ordinance is a Hong Kong ordinance "to consolidate and amend the law relating to forests and plants, and to provide for the protection of the countryside".

. ''Camellia hongkongensis'' was introduced to Japan in 1958 from

Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often b ...

References

hongkongensis Flora of Hong Kong Trees of China Endemic flora of China Garden plants of Asia Endangered plants Plants described in 1859 {{tree-stub

Description

Distribution

See also

References