Camelliajaponica

(the
Japanesecamellia
)isoneofthebestknown
species
ofthe
genus
Camellia
.Sometimescalledthe
Roseofwinter
,itbelongstotheTheaceae
family
.Itisthe
officialstateflowerof
Alabama
.Therearethousandsofcultivarsof
C.japonica
incultivation,with
manydifferentcolorsandformsofflowers.
Inthewild,itisfoundinmainlandChina(
Shandong
,east
Zhejiang
),Taiwan,southernKoreaand
southernJapan.Itgrowsinforests,ataltitudesofaround3001,100metres(9803,610ft).

Description
Camelliajaponica
isaflowering
tree
or
shrub
,usually1.56metres(4.919.7ft)tall,but
occasionallyupto11metres(36ft)tall.Somecultivatedvarietiesachieveasizeof72mor
more.Theyoungestbranchesarepurplishbrown,becominggrayishbrownastheyage.The
alternatelyarrangedleatheryleavesaredarkgreenonthetopside,palerontheunderside,
usually511centimetres(2.04.3in)longby2.56centimetres(1.02.4in)widewithastalk
(
petiole
)about510millimetres(0.20.4in)long.Thebaseoftheleafispointed(cuneate),the
marginsareveryfinelytoothed(serrulate)andthetipsomewhatpointed.
Inthewild,floweringisbetweenJanuaryandMarch.Theflowersappearalongthebranches,
particularlytowardstheends,andhaveveryshortstems.Theyoccureitheraloneorinpairs,and
are610centimetres(2.43.9in)across.Thereareaboutninegreenish
bracteoles
and
sepals
.
Flowersofthewildspecieshavesixorsevenroseorwhite
petals
,each34.5centimetres
(1.21.8in)longby1.52.5centimetres(0.61.0in)widetheinnermostpetalsarejoinedatthe
baseforuptoathirdoftheirlength.(Cultivatedformsoftenhavemorepetals.)Thenumerous
stamens
are2.53.5centimetres(1.01.4in)long,theouterwhorlbeingjoinedatthebaseforup
to2.5centimetres(1.0in).Thethreelobed
style
isabout3centimetres(1.2in)long.
The
fruit
consistsofaglobeshapedcapsulewiththreecompartments(
locules
),eachwithoneor
twolargebrown
seeds
withadiameterof12centimetres(0.40.8in).Fruitingoccursin
SeptembertoOctoberinthewild.
C.japonica
leavesareeatenbythe
caterpillars
ofsome
Lepidoptera
,suchas
TheEngrailed
(
Ectropiscrepuscularia
).TheJapanesewhiteeyebird(
Zosteropsjaponica
)pollinates
Camellia
japonica
.