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Camellia japonica

Common name:	Camellia	Family:	Theaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 58, 200
Synonyms:	Thea japonica ((L.)Baill.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - Japan, Korea.
Habitat:	Woods in hills and down to sea level near the coast in C. and S. Japan[58].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. japonica var. hortensis[G] C. japonica var. hozanensis[G] C. japonica var. spontanea[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Camellia [H], Ch'A Chin T'Iao [E], Ch'A Hua [E], Common Camellia [P], Japanese Camellia [H,DEN2], Tz'U Ch'A [E], Yabu-Tubaki [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Theales. Tea family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; Japan

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 10m by 8m . It is hardy to zone 7 and is frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soil. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Cultivar 'Alba Simplex': Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, By Walls, By North Wall.
Cultivar 'Coppelia': Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, By Walls, By North Wall.
Cultivar 'Guilio Nuccio': Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, By Walls, By North Wall.
Cultivar 'Jupiter': Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, By Walls, By North Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers; Oil; Tea.

An edible oil is obtained from the seed[11, 61, 105]. It is called 'tsubaki oil'[183].
Dried flowers - cooked[105]. Used as a vegetable or mixed with gelatinous-rice to make a Japanese food called 'mochi'[183].
The leaves are a tea substitute[142, 177, 178, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent; Cancer; Haemostatic; Salve; Tonic.

The flowers are astringent, antihaemorrhagic, haemostatic, salve and tonic[178, 218]. When mixed with sesame oil they are used in the treatment of burns and scalds[218].
The plant has shown anticancer activity[218].

Other Uses

Dye; Oil.

A non-drying oil is obtained from the seed - used as a hair-dressing[46, 61]. The oil consists mainly of olein it is not subject to polymerize or oxidize, nor does it form solids at low temperatures[174].
A green dye is obtained from the pink or red petals[168].

Cultivation details

Prefers a woodland soil but thrives in a warm open well-drained loam if leafmould is added[1, 11, 200]. A calcifuge plant, preferring a pH around 5[11, 200]. Prefers the partial shade of a light woodland[200], it also grows well on a north-west aspect[11] and on sunless walls[202]. This is a very cold hardy plant, but it cannot tolerate cold winds[11]. Plants should be given a position shaded from the morning sun in order to protect the flowers from late frosts[219].
Prefers a wet summer and a cool but not very frosty dry winter[200].
Plants are not very self-compatible, self-fertilized flowers produce few seeds and these are of low viability[200].
A very ornamental plant[11]. A large amount of named forms have been developed, mainly for their ornamental value[11, 200]. Many of them tolerate full sun[182, 200].
Camellias are a valuable commercial crop in Asia, where they are cultivated for the oil obtained from their seed. Many of the cultivars grown in Britain do not set seed, unfortunately. The following cultivars have been seen with good crops of seeds:- 'Alba Simplex'; 'Coppelia'; 'Guillio Nuccio'; 'Jupiter'[K].The sub-species C. japonica macrocarpa. Masam. has larger fruits than the type, looking like small apples. The sub-species C. japonica rusticana (Honda.)Kitamura. is a hardier form from N. Japan where it grows at higher altitudes than the species and withstands long snowy winters[11, 219].

Propagation

Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[113]. Stored seed should be pre-soaked for 24 hours in warm water and the hard covering around the micropyle should be filed down to leave a thin covering[78, 113, 138]. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 23°c[138]. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions when they are more than 15cm tall and give them some protection from winter cold for their first year or three outdoors[K].
Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, August/September in a shaded frame. High percentage but slow[78].
Cuttings of firm wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, end of June in a frame[11, 78]. Keep in a cool greenhouse for the first year[11].
Leaf-bud cuttings, July/August in a frame.

Cultivars

'Jupiter': This single-flowered cultivar regularly sets seed in British gardens[K].
'Guilio Nuccio': A single-flowered cultivar originating in California, it regularly sets seed in Porthpean garden in southern &ndndndnd[K].
'Coppelia': This cultivar has been seen on a number of occasions bearing good crops of fertile seed[K].
'Alba Simplex': This cultivar has been seen on a number of occasions bearing good crops of fertile seed[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for camellia japonica (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Theaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[58] Ohwi. G. Flora of Japan. (English translation) Smithsonian Institution 1965
The standard work. Brilliant, but not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[113] Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press 1987 ISBN 0942375009
A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.

[138] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. 1989
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation.

[142] Brouk. B. Plants Consumed by Man. Academic Press 1975 ISBN 0-12-136450-x
Readable but not very comprehensive.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[174] Kariyone. T. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
A good Japanese herbal.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.

[182] Thomas. G. S. Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. Murray 1992 ISBN 0-7195-5043-2
Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[202] Davis. B. Climbers and Wall Shrubs. Viking. 1990 ISBN 0-670-82929-3
Contains information on 2,000 species and cultivars, giving details of cultivation requirements. The text is terse but informative.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

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