Camellia oleifera
| Camellia oleifera | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 8 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 13' |
| Width: | 5' |
| Blooms: | Mid Fall-Mid Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Camellia oleifera (common name: tea-oil plant)
Propagation: Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse[1]. 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[2][1][3]. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 23°c[3]. 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[K].
Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, August/September in a shaded frame. High percentage but slow[2].
Cuttings of firm wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, end of June in a frame[4][2]. Keep in a cool greenhouse for the first year[4].
Leaf-bud cuttings, July/August in a frame.
Cultivation: Prefers a woodland soil but thrives in a warm open well-drained loam if leafmould is added[5][4][6]. A calcifuge plant, preferring a pH between 5 and 7[4][6]. Prefers the partial shade of a light woodland[6].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[6]. It succeeds on a wall at Kew and outdoors in milder areas[4].
Prefers a wet summer and a cool but not very frosty dry winter[6].
Plants are not very self-compatible, self-fertilized flowers produce few seeds and these are of low viability[6].
This species has been cultivated for many centuries in China for the oil in its seed[7][8].
A very ornamental plant, some named forms have been developed for their ornamental value.
This species is closely related to C. sasanqua[4].
Range: E. Asia - China
Habitat: Forests, thickets, banks of streams and foothills at elevations of 500 - 1300 metres[7][9].
Edibility: An oil obtained from the seed is used in cooking[10][4][7].
Medicinal: The seed oil is used in the treatment of ringworm[11].
Usage: A non-drying oil is obtained from the seed - used in textile manufacture, soap making and as an illuminant[5][4][12][13]. The oil consists mainly of olein. It is not subject to polymerize or oxidize, nor does it form solids at low temperatures[14].
A grey dye is obtained from the pink or red petals[15].
The seed cake has insecticidal activity[11].
Pollinators: Bees
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Early Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bird, R. Growing from Seed Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan, 1989.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ Grey-Wilson, Christopher and Victoria Matthews. Gardening on Walls. Collins, 1983.
- ↑ Flora of China. 1994.
- ↑ Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Duke, James and Edward Ayensu. Medicinal Plants of China. Reference Publications, 1985.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.
- ↑ Kariyone, Tatsuo. Atlas of Medicinal Plants.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.