THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS CAMELLIA

A List of Species, accompanied by an invitation to contribute descriptions and photos (see below)

Adapted from notes by Thomas J. Savige, the first International Registrar of the genus Camellia

The botanical hierarchy of the Genus Camellia has developed considerably as the number of species nominated by botanists, increased from the original two, C.japonica and C.sinensis, listed by Linnaeus (1735) as the genera Camellia and Thea, up to the present day 267 including varieties of species.

J. Robert Sealy’s monograph, “A Revision of the Genus Camellia”, published by the RHS in London in 1958, codified and stabilized the botanical nomenclature relating to the camellia species recognised at that time. He divided the Genus into 12 sections and described 87 species.

As, in the intervening years since 1958, many more species had been nominated and described by botanists, Professor Chang Hungta of Sunyatsen University, Guangzhou, China, carried out further investigation, leading to a reclassification of Sealy’s hierarchy to include the added number. He published his monograph on the Genus Camellia in 1981. This was updated and translated into English with the assistance of Dr Bruce Bartholomew, of California, USA, and published by Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, in 1984. This includes 201 species or otherwise differentiated groups of camellias. Chang divided the Genus into four Subgenera with a total of 20 sections. Since that time a further 66 species and varieties have been added by botanists, making a total of 267 by 1991.

Chang accepted most of Sealy’s work and did not fully re-describe the species dealt with by him, so that the two monographs together are necessary to study the main body of the species material.

The Chang hierarchy is as follows:

1. Subgenus Protocamellia

    1. Section Archecamellia
    2. Section Stereocarpus
    3. Section Piquetia

2. Subgenus Camellia

    4. Section Oleifera
    5. Section Furfuracea
    6. Section Paracamellia
    7. Section Pseudocamellia
    8. Section Tuberculata
    9. Section Luteoflora
    10. Section Camellia

3. Subgenus Thea

    11. Section Corallina
    12. Section Brachyandra
    13. Section Longpedicellata
    14. Section Chrysantha
    15. Section Calpandria
    16. Section Thea
    17. Section Longissima
    18. Section Glaberrima

4. Subgenus Metacamellia

    19. Section Theopsis
    20. Section Eriandria

An invaluable resource for the study of species is “Collected Species of the Genus Camellia -- an Illustrated Outline” by Gao, Parks, and Du, published in China in March, 2005; ISBN 7-5341-2594-4.

INDEX OF SPECIES

[Brief notes on these species are included in the International Camellia Register.  Here, though, we invite readers to submit brief descriptions of the various species – growth habit, what the flower looks like, and so on -- with good-quality photos to incorporate into this list.]

A:  acutiperulata; acutiserrata; acutissima; albescens; albogigas; albo-sericea; albovillosa; amplexicaulis; amplexifolia; angustifolia; anlungensis; apolyodonta; arborescens; assimiloides; assimilis; atrothea; aurea

B:  bailinshanica; bambusifolia; bolovanensis; boreali-yunnanica; brachyandra; brevicolumna; brevigyna; brevipetiolata; brevissima; brevistyla; buxifolia

C:  callidonta; campanisepala; candida; caudata; changii; changingensis; chekiangoleosa; chrysantha; chrysantha longistyla; chrysantha macrophylla; chrysantha microcarpa; chrysanthoides; chungkingensis; chunii; compressa compressa; compressa variabilis; confusa; connata; connatistyla; corallina; cordifolia; costata; costei; crapnelliana; crassicolumna; crassipes; crassipetala; crassissima; cratera; crispula; cryptoneura; cuspidata chekiangensi; cuspidata cuspidata; cuspidata grandiflora

D:  danzaiensis; dehungensis; dishiensis; dormoyana; dubia

E:  edentata; edithae; elongata; euphlebia; euphlebia yunnanensis; euryoides

F:  fangchensis; fascicularis; flava; flavida; fleuryi; fluviatilis; forrestii; forrestii acutisepala; fraterna; furfuracea-furfuracea; furfuracea-yaoshanica; fusuensis

G:  gauchowensis; gaudichaudii; gilbertii; glabberima; glabriperulata; gracilipes; grandibracteata; grandis; granthamiana; grijsii; gymnogyna; gymnogymoides 

H:  haaniensis; handelii; henryana; hiemalis; hongkongensis; houkouensis; huiliensis; hunanica

I:   ilicifolia; impressinervis; indochinensis; integerrima; irrawadiensis

J:  japonica; japonica macrocarpa; japonica rusticana; jinyunshanica; jinshajiangica; jiuyishanica

K:  kangdianica; kissi kissi; kissi megalantha; kissi trigona; krempfii; kwangnanica; kwangtungensis; kwangsiensis; kweichowensis

L:  lanceolata; lancicalyx; lancilimba; lanosituba; lapidea; latipetiolata; lawii; leptophylla; liberostamina; liberistyla; liberistyloides; lienshanensis; limonia; limonia obovata; lipingensis; litchii; longgangensis; longgangensis grandis; longgangensis patens; longicalyx; longicarpa; longicaudata; longicuspis; longigyna; longipedicellata; longissima; longlingensis; longruiensis; longituba; longzhouensis; lucidissima; lungshenensis; lutchuensis; luteoflora; lutescens

M:  macrosepala; magnocarpa; magniflora; mairei; mairei alba; makuanica; maliflora; manglaensis; megocarpa; melliana; membranacea; micrantha; microcarpa; microdonta; microphylla; minor; minutiflora; miyagii; mollis; mongshanica; montana; multiperulata; multipetala; multiplex; multisepala; muricatula

N:  nanchunica; nematodea; neriifolia; nervosa; nitidissima; nitidissima microcarpa; nokoensis

O:  oblata; obovatifolia; obtusifolia; octopetala; oleifera; oligophlebia; omiensis; oviformis

P:  pachyandra; parafurfuracea; parvicaudata; parvicuspidata; parviflora; parvilapida; parvilimba; parvilimba brevipes; parvimuricata; parviovata; parvipetala; parvisepala; parvisepaloides; paucipetala; paucipunctata; pentamera; pentapetala; pentaphylax; pentaphylicoides; pentastyla; percuspidata; petelotii; phaeoclada; phellocarpa; phelloderma; philippinensis; pilosperma; pingguoensis; piquetiana; pitardii; pitardii alba; pitardii yunnanica; pleurocarpa; polyneura; polyodonta; polypetala; pseudo-elongata; ptilophylla; ptilosperma; pubescens; pubicosta; pubipetala; punctata; puniceiflora; purpurea; pyxidiacea

Q:  quinquebracteata; quinquelocularis; quinqueloculosa

R:  remotiserrata; reticulata; rhytidocarpa; rhytidocarpa microphylla; rosiflora; rosthorniana; rotundata; rubituberculata; rubo-anthera

S: salicifolia; saluenensis; sasanqua; scariosisepala; semiserrata; semiserrata albiflora; septempetala; septempetala rubra; setiperulata; shensiensis; sinensis; sinensis assamica; sinensis dehungensis; sinensis pubilimba; sinensis waldenae; stichoclada; stuartiana; subacutissima; subglabra; subintegra; subliberopetala; szechuanensis; szemaoensis

T:  tachangensis; taliensis; tenii; tenuivalvis; terminalis; tetracocca; thailandica; tonkinensis; transarisanensis; transnokoensis; triantha; trichandra; trichocarpa; trichoclada; trichosperma; trigonocarpa; truncata; tsaii; tsaii synaptica; tsingpienensis; tsingpienensis pubisepala; tsofuii; tuberculata; tunganica; tunghinensis

U:  uraku

V:  vietnamensis; villicarpa; villosa; viridicalyx

W:  wardii; weiningensis; wenshanensis; wumingensis

X:  xylocarpa; xanthochroma; xiashensis; xichengensis

Y:  yangkiangensis; yuhsienensis; yungkiangensis; yungkiangcha; yunnanensis

Z:  zengii