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| Camellia variety, Pink Perfection |
There have been times when plant relationships surprised me. The fact that tea is a camellia, or one kind of camellia gives us tea, whichever way you want to look at it, is one of them.
My father, when he retired to Florida, became a camellia grower, officer in the local Camellia Society and judge at camellia flower shows. Consequently I learned a lot about camellias and certainly admired the flowers.
Camellia is a genus of shrubs, classified in the plant family Theaceae, native to east and southeast Asia, especially China and Japan. They have attractive flowers, and have been bred and hybridized to create great floral diversity. See some of the diversity on http://www.americancamellias.org/default.aspx
Camellias have been in cultivation in China and Japan for centuries. Most of the varieties cultivated for their flowers are Camellia japonica, although Camellia reticulata (from China) and C. sassanqua (from Japan) have contributed important varieties.