Japanese Camellia

Camellia japonica

"Camellia japonica", known as common camellia, or Japanese camellia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Theaceae. There are thousands of cultivars of "C. japonica" in cultivation, with many colors and forms of flowers. In the U.S. it is sometimes called japonica.
Japanese Camellia These are commonly found in parks. Camellia japonica,Japanese Camellia,Tsubaki

Appearance

"Camellia japonica" is a flowering tree or shrub, usually 1.5–6 metres tall, but occasionally up to 11 metres tall. Some cultivated varieties achieve a size of 72 m2 or more. The youngest branches are purplish brown, becoming grayish brown as they age. The alternately arranged leathery leaves are dark green on the top side, paler on the underside, usually 5–11 centimetres long by 2.5–6 centimetres wide with a stalk about 5–10 millimetres long. The base of the leaf is pointed, the margins are very finely toothed and the tip somewhat pointed.

In the wild, flowering is between January and March. The flowers appear along the branches, particularly towards the ends, and have very short stems. They occur either alone or in pairs, and are 6–10 centimetres across. There are about nine greenish bracteoles and sepals. Flowers of the wild species have six or seven rose or white petals, each 3–4.5 centimetres long by 1.5–2.5 centimetres wide; the innermost petals are joined at the base for up to a third of their length. The numerous stamens are 2.5–3.5 centimetres long, the outer whorl being joined at the base for up to 2.5 centimetres. The three-lobed style is about 3 centimetres long.

The fruit consists of a globe-shaped capsule with three compartments, each with one or two large brown seeds with a diameter of 1–2 centimetres. Fruiting occurs in September to October in the wild.

"C. japonica" leaves are eaten by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera, such as the engrailed. The Japanese white eye bird pollinates "Camellia japonica".

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