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Theaceae
Japanese Camellia
Camellia japonica
Adoration and devotion.
- Family
- Theaceae
- Genus
- Camellia
- Native to
- Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan
- Bloom season
- Winter, Early Spring
- Type
- evergreen shrub
- Height
- 6-25 ft
- Sunlight
- part shade
- Soil
- acidic, well-drained, humus-rich
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 7-9
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- In the Japanese 'language of flowers' (hanakotoba), the red camellia symbolizes love, while white symbolizes waiting, and their dropping as whole flowers rather than petal by petal was once seen as an ill omen by samurai.
- There are over 30,000 registered cultivars of Japanese Camellia worldwide, more than almost any other ornamental plant.
- Alexandre Dumas' novel 'The Lady of the Camellias' (1848) made the flower a cultural icon, later inspiring Verdi's opera 'La Traviata.'
- The plant is closely related to the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and some cultivars' leaves can be brewed as tea, though the taste differs.
- Some specimens in Japan and China are over 500 years old and are designated as national treasures and protected cultural properties.
Color meanings
0
admiration
1
perfection
2
longing