Camellia, Common Camellia, Japanese Camellia
Camellia japonica

Family: Theaceae

What it is like

Bloom Color: Lavender, Orange, Pink, Red, White, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Early winter, Late fall, Late winter, Mid winter. Form: Oval.

Camellia japonica is an evergreen Shrub growing to 10 m (32ft) by 8 m (26ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from April to June, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid and neutral soils and can grow in very acid soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 10

Where it is found

Woods in hills and down to sea level near the coast in C. and S. Japan.

E. Asia - Japan, Korea.

Conservation Status:

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, China, East Africa, Europe, Georgia, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan*, Korea, Pacific, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Taiwan, Tasmania, USA, Vietnam, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 3

An edible oil is obtained from the seed. It is called 'tsubaki oil'. Dried flowers - cooked. Used as a vegetable or mixed with gelatinous-rice to make a Japanese food called 'mochi'. The leaves are a tea substitute.

Oil: Oil

Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicine

Rating: 2

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

Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.

Cancer: Used in the treatment of cancer.

Haemostatic: Controls internal bleeding.

Salve: Soothes and heals damaged skin.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 2

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

Dye: Plants that provide dyes.

Oil: Vegetable oils have many uses, as lubricants, lighting, soap and paint making, waterproofing etc. This does not include the edible oils unless they are also mentioned as having other uses.

Espalier: A tree or other plant that is trained to grow flat against a support (such as a trellis or wall).

How it is grown

Landscape Uses:Border, Container, Espalier, Standard, Specimen. Prefers a woodland soil but thrives in a warm open well-drained loam if leafmould is added. A calcifuge plant, preferring a pH around 5. Prefers the partial shade of a light woodland, it also grows well on a north-west aspect and on sunless walls. This is a very cold hardy plant, but it cannot tolerate cold winds. Plants should be given a position shaded from the morning sun in order to protect the flowers from late frosts. Prefers a wet summer and a cool but not very frosty dry winter. Plants are not very self-compatible, self-fertilized flowers produce few seeds and these are of low viability. A very ornamental plant. A large amount of named forms have been developed, mainly for their ornamental value. Many of them tolerate full sun. 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'.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.Special Features:Attractive foliage, Not North American native, Blooms are very showy.

Propagating it: Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. 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. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 23°c. 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. Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, August/September in a shaded frame. High percentage but slow. Cuttings of firm wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, end of June in a frame. Keep in a cool greenhouse for the first year. Leaf-bud cuttings, July/August in a frame.

Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge;

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 7-9

Growth: Slow

Soil: Light (sandy), medium

Shade: Full shade, semi-shade, no shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Its other names

Local names

False flax, Gold of pleasure, Kamelia jepang, Mawar musim dingin, Rose of winter, Shancha, Siberian oil seed, Trahoa nhat, Tsitsmati,

Synonyms

Thea japonica.