Note 46 — Chapter XXXIX

Kämpfer who describes the Camellia under the Japanese name of Tsubaki, speaks of it as a large shrub, almost a tree. Thunberg represents it as attaining the size of a large tree, exceedingly common in groves and gardens, and a very great favorite, as well for its polished, evergreen leaves as from the size, beauty, and variety of its blossoms, which appear from April to October, single and red in the wild ones, but double and of several colors, red, purple, white, etc., in the cultivated varieties, of which the Japanese assured Kämpfer there were several hundreds. Siebold describes the wild kind as a small tree, growing in clumps and thickets, often with many shoots from the same root, from fifteen to twenty feet high; while a much larger size is attained by the cultivated kinds. The name of Camellia was given to the genus by Linnæus, in honor of George Joseph Kamel, a Jesuit missionary, who sent to Ray descriptions of the plants of the Philippine Islands, published by him at the end of his “History of Plants.” The single-flowering variety was introduced into England, about 1739, by Lord Petre probably from China, of which it is a native, in common with quite a number of plants, to which the specific epithet Japanese has been applied. As late as 1788 (as appears from Curtis’ “Botanical Magazine,” vol. i) it was very rare and costly. Down to that time it had been treated as a stove-plant, but soon after, on Curtis’ suggestion, it was introduced into conservatories, of which it soon became the pride, and was even found hardy enough to bear the winter in the open air. Previous to 1806 a number of varieties were imported from China; many others were produced in Europe, and already by 1825 these varieties had become very numerous (see “Botanical Magazine,” vols. xl and lvi). The Camellia sasankwa is smaller, with smaller leaves and flowers, very closely resembling the tea-plant; and, in packing their teas, the Chinese are in the habit of putting some of the blossoms into the chests. It is extensively cultivated for its oil, in China as well as in Japan.