''Camellia lucii'' is a species of flowering tree in the
tea family
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 ...
. 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 ...
, the species is not known to exist in the wild.
Discovery
''Camellia lucii'' was first noticed by scientists in 1999 at a commercial nursery in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
. It was stated that the specimen was collected in the mountains near the city. In 2001, cuttings were taken from the specimen and grafted onto ''
Camellia amplexicaulis
''Camellia amplexicaulis'' is a species of flowering tree in the tea family. Originally native to Vietnam, it has been considered extinct in the wild since 2018. It is one of two species of trees in the tea family that only exists in cultivation ...
'' rootstocks in
Kulnura
Kulnura () is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located north of Mangrove Mountain along George Downes Drive. It is within local government area. Kulnura's name is an Aboriginal word meaning "in sight of the ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Additional plants were propagated, and in 2015 the species was formally described.
[ The species epithet is named for André Luc, an expert in ''Camellia''.
]
Description
''C. lucii'' is a small, flowering tree that strongly resembles ''C. amplexicaulis'', but has white flowers. It can also be distinguished from ''C. amplexicaulis'' by the shape of the flowers, styles, and fruit, as well as by the surface of mature leaves.
References
lucii
Plants extinct in the wild
Plants described in 2015
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