''Camellia sasanqua'', with common name sasanqua 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 ...
''
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to China and Japan. It is usually found growing up to an altitude of 900 metres.
It is an
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 ...
shrub
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 ...
growing to 5 m tall. The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are broad elliptic, 3–7 cm long and 1.2–3 cm broad, with a finely serrated margin. The
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are 5–7 cm diameter, with 5–8 white to dark pink petals.
History and uses
At the beginning of the
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
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 (, ).
[Botanic Gardens Trust—Camellias](_blank)
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''Camellia sasanqua'' was not known in western societies until in 1820 Captain Richard Rawes of the East Indiaman
East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
''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 Europe. It has now also been introduced to Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
It has a long history of cultivation in Japan for practical rather than decorative reasons. The leaves are used to make tea while the seeds or nuts are used to make 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
Th ...
, which is used for lighting, lubrication, cooking and cosmetic purposes. Tea oil has a higher calorific content than any other edible oil available naturally in Japan.
''Camellia sasanqua'' is valued in gardens for its handsome glossy green foliage, and fragrant single flowers that can range in color from white to deep pink and are produced extremely early in the season. Various cultivars
A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...
have been selected, of which 'Crimson King', 'Hugh Evans' and 'Jean May' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.
See also
* List of Award of Garden Merit camellias
Below is a selected list of camellia cultivars which currently (2016)
hold the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Camellias are popular shrubs of medium to large size (typically 1 to 4 cubic metres), originating in China and th ...
Citations and references
;Citations
;References
*Bretschneider, E. (1898) ''History of European Botanical Discoveries in China, Volumes 1-2''. (Sampson Low, Marston and Company).
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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 ...
Flora of Japan
Garden plants of Asia
Plants used in bonsai
Christmas plants