Thanks, Swapna ji. Here are some interesting extracts from Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia
*Camellia*, the *camellias*, is a genus <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus>of flowering plants <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_plant> in the family<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_(biology)> Theaceae <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theaceae>. They are native to eastern and southern Asia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia>, from the Himalaya<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalaya>east to Japan <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan> and Indonesia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia>. There are 100-250 described species <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species>, with some controversy over the exact number. The genus was named by Linnaeus<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolus_Linnaeus>after the Jesuit <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit> botanist Georg Joseph Kamel<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Joseph_Kamel>from Brno <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brno>, who worked on the Philippines<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines>. This genus is famous throughout East Asia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia>; camellias are known as *cháhuā* (茶花) in Chinese<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_(language)>, and as *tsubaki* (椿) in Japanese<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_language> . The most famous member - though often not recognized as a camellia - is certainly the tea plant <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_plant> (*C. sinensis*). Among the ornamental species, the Japanese Camellia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Camellia>( *C. japonica*) is perhaps the most widely-known, though most camellias grown for their flowers are cultivars <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultivar> or hybrids <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_(biology)>. They are evergreen <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen> shrubs<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrub>and small trees <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree> 2-20 m tall. The leaves<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaf>are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, usually glossy, and 3-17 cm long. The flowers <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower> are large and conspicuous, 1-12 cm diameter, with (in natural conditions) 5-9 petals; colour varies from white to pink and red, and yellow in a few species. The fruit <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit> is a dry capsule<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_(fruit)>, sometimes subdivided into up to 5 compartments, each compartment containing up to 8 seeds <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed>. The genus is generally adapted to acidic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid> soils <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil>, and most species do not grow well on chalky <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalk> or other calcium<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium>-rich soils. Most species also have a high rainfall<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain>requirement and will not tolerate drought <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought>, but some of the more unusual camellias - typically species from karst<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karst>in Vietnam <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam> - can grow without much rainfall. Camellias have a slow growth rate. Typically they will grow about 30 centimetres a year until mature although this varies depending on variety and location. *Camellia sinensis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camellia_sinensis>*, the tea plant, is of major commercial importance because tea<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea>is made from its leaves. While the finest teas are produced by *C. sinensis* courtesy of millennia of selective breeding<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_breeding>of this species, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, in some parts of Japan<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan>, tea made from Christmas Camellia<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Camellia>( *C. sasanqua*) leaves is popular. On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 10:09 AM, Swapna Prabhu <[email protected]>wrote: > Hi ViveK, > > That is Camelia sp. of Theaceae, the Tea family. > > - Swapna. > > On Fri, Dec 12, 2008 at 7:09 PM, vivek gharpure <[email protected]>wrote: > >> This odourless flower; looking like a rose, but growing on a tall >> (15-20 feet) tree with shiny leaves was seen in shillong, Meghalaya. >> >> >> >> What tree is this? >> >> Vivek gharpure >> >> Dr. Salim Ali Chawk >> Mumbai - 400 001. >> India. >> >> >> >> -- With regards, J.M.Garg "We often ignore the beauty around us" Creating Awareness about Indian Flora & Fauna: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Jmgarg1 For learning about our trees & plants, please visit/ join Google e-group (Indiantreepix) http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.in/group/indiantreepix?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
