Editing Camellia (section)

== History and use ==
[[File:Camellia reticulata RHS.jpeg|thumb|right|''[[Camellia reticulata]]'' is rare in the wild but has been cultivated for hundreds of years.]]
''[[Camellia sinensis]]'', the tea plant, is of major commercial importance because [[tea]] is made from its leaves. The species ''C. sinensis'' is the product of many generations of [[selective breeding]] to bring out desirable qualities for tea. However, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, tea made from ''C. sasanqua'' leaves is popular in some parts of Japan.

Seeds of ''C. oleifera'', ''C. japonica'', and, to a lesser extent, other species such as ''C. crapnelliana'', ''C. reticulata'', ''C. sasanqua'' and ''C. sinensis'' as well are pressed to make [[tea seed oil]], a sweet seasoning and cooking oil special to East Asia. It is the most important [[cooking oil]] for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China.

Camellia oil is commonly used to clean and protect the blades of cutting instruments.

Camellia oil pressed from seeds of ''C. japonica'', also called tsubaki oil or tsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care.<ref>How to Use Japanese Camellia (Tsubaki) Oil. ''[http://wawaza.com/pages/How-to-Use-Japanese-Camellia-%28Tsubaki%29-Oil.html]''.</ref> ''C. japonica'' plant is used to prepare traditional antiinflammatory medicines.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Majumder|first1=Soumya|last2=Ghosh|first2=Arindam|last3=Bhattacharya|first3=Malay|date=2020-08-27|title=Natural anti-inflammatory terpenoids in Camellia japonica leaf and probable biosynthesis pathways of the metabolome|journal=Bulletin of the National Research Centre|volume=44|issue=1|pages=141|doi=10.1186/s42269-020-00397-7|issn=2522-8307|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Garden history ===
Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China for centuries before they were seen in Europe. The German botanist [[Engelbert Kaempfer]] reported<ref>Kaemfer, ''Amoenitates exoticae'', 1712, noted by Alice M. Coats, ''Garden Shrubs and Their Histories'' (1964) 1992, ''s.v.'' "Camellia".</ref> that the "Japan Rose", as he called it, grew wild in woodland and hedgerow, but that many superior varieties had been selected for gardens. Europeans' earliest views of camellias must have been their representations in Chinese painted wallpapers, where they were often represented growing in porcelain pots.

The first living camellias seen in England were a single red and a single white, grown and flowered in his garden at [[Thorndon Hall]], Essex, by [[Robert Petre, 8th Baron Petre|Robert James, Lord Petre]], among the keenest gardeners of his generation, in 1739. His gardener [[James Gordon (botanist)|James Gordon]] was the first to introduce camellias to commerce, from the nurseries he established after Lord Petre's untimely death in 1743, at Mile End, Essex, near London.<ref>Coats (1964) 1992.</ref>

With the expansion of the [[British tea culture|tea trade]] in the later 18th century, new varieties began to be seen in England, imported through the [[British East India Company]]. The Company's John Slater was responsible for the first of the new camellias, double ones, in white and a striped red, imported in 1792. Further camellias imported in the East Indiamen were associated with the patrons whose gardeners grew them:  a double red for Sir Robert Preston in 1794 and the pale pink named "Lady Hume's Blush" for Amelia, the lady of [[Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet|Sir Abraham Hume]] of [[Wormleybury]], Hertfordshire (1806). The camellia was imported from England to America in 1797 when [[John Stevens (inventor, born 1749)|Colonel John Stevens]] brought the flower as part of an effort to grow attractions within [[Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New Jersey|Elysian Fields]] in [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]], [[New Jersey]].<ref name="Curtis' Botanical Magazine">The New York Botanical Garden, ''Curtis' Botanical Magazine, Volume X'' Bronx, New York: The New York Botanical Garden, 1797</ref> By 1819, twenty-five camellias had bloomed in England; that year the first monograph appeared, Samuel Curtis's, ''A Monograph on the Genus Camellia'', whose five handsome folio colored illustrations have usually been removed from the slender text and framed. Though they did not flower for over a decade, camellias that set seed rewarded their growers with a wealth of new varieties. By the 1840s, the camellia was at the height of its fashion as ''the'' luxury flower. The Parisian courtesan [[Marie Duplessis]], who died young in 1847, inspired Dumas' ''[[The Lady of the Camellias|La Dame aux camélias]]'' and Verdi's ''[[La Traviata]]''.

The fashionable imbricated formality of prized camellias was an element in their decline, replaced by the new hothouse [[orchid]]. Their revival after World War I as woodland shrubs for mild climates has been paralleled by the rise in popularity of ''[[Camellia sasanqua]]''.

===Modern cultivars===
The tea camellia, ''C. sinensis'', has been selected by [[Camellia sinensis#Cultivars|many commercial cultivars]] for the taste of its leaves once processed into tea leaves.

Today, camellias are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers; about 3,000 [[cultivar]]s and [[Hybrid plant|hybrids]] have been selected, many with [[double flower|double]] or semi-double flowers. ''C. japonica'' is the most prominent species in cultivation, with over 2,000 named cultivars. Next are ''C. reticulata'' with over 400 named cultivars, and ''C. sasanqua'' with over 300 named cultivars. Popular hybrids include ''[[Camellia × hiemalis|C. × hiemalis]]'' (''C. japonica'' × ''C. sasanqua'') and ''[[Camellia × williamsii|C. × williamsii]]'' (''C. japonica'' × ''[[Camellia saluenensis|C. saluenensis]]''). Some varieties can grow considerably, up to {{val|100|ul=m²}}, though more compact cultivars are available. They are frequently planted in woodland settings alongside other [[calcifuges]], such as [[rhododendrons]]. They are particularly associated with areas of high soil acidity, such as Cornwall and Devon in the UK. They are highly valued for their very early flowering, often among the first flowers to appear in the late winter. Late [[frost]]s can damage the flower buds, resulting in misshapen flowers.<ref>{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|page=1136}}</ref>

There is a great variety of flower forms:

* single (flat, bowl- or cup-shaped)
* semi-double (rows of large outer petals, with the centre comprising mixed petals and stamens)
* double:
** paeony form (convex mass of irregular petals and petaloids with hidden stamens)
** anemone form (one or more rows of outer petals, with mixed petaloids and stamens in the centre)
** rose form (overlapping petals showing stamens in a concave centre when open)
** formal double (rows of overlapping petals with hidden stamens)

====AGM cultivars====
{{Main|List of Award of Garden Merit camellias}}
The following hybrid cultivars have gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]]:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Name !! Parentage !! Height !! Spread !! Flower colour !! Flower type !! Ref.
|-
| Cornish Snow || ''cuspidata'' × ''saluenensis'' || 2.5 || 1.5 || white || single || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/93350/Camellia-Cornish-Snow-(cuspidata-%25C3%2597-saluenensis)/Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426014914/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/93350/camellia-cornish-snow-(cuspidata-%C3%97-saluenensis)/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Cornish Snow' (cuspidata × saluenensis) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17 }}</ref> 
|-
| Cornish Spring || ''cuspidata'' × ''japonica'' || 2.5 || 1.5 || pink || single || <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/68764/Camellia-Cornish-Spring-(cuspidata-×-japonica)/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Cornish Spring' (cuspidata × japonica) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
|-
| Francie L || || 8.0 || 8.0 || rose-pink || double || <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/67935/Camellia-Francie-L/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Francie L' AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17}}</ref>
|-
| Freedom Bell || × ''williamsii'' || 2.5 || 2.5 || red || semi-double || <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/89783/Camellia-Freedom-Bell/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Freedom Bell' AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17}}</ref> 
|-
| Inspiration || ''reticulata'' × ''saluenensis'' || 4.0 || 2.5 || rose-pink || semi-double || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/50008/Camellia-Inspiration-(reticulata-%25C3%2597-saluenensis)/Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426014236/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/50008/camellia-inspiration-(reticulata-%C3%97-saluenensis)/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Inspiration' (reticulata × saluenensis) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17 }}</ref> 
|-
| Leonard Messel || ''reticulata'' × × ''williamsii'' || 4.0 || 4.0 || rose-pink || semi-double || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/49261/Camellia-Leonard-Messel-(reticulata-%25C3%2597-(%25C3%2597-williamsii))/Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426014201/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/49261/camellia-leonard-messel-(reticulata-%C3%97-(%C3%97-williamsii))/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Leonard Messel' (reticulata × williamsii) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17 }}</ref> 
|-
| Royalty || ''japonica'' × ''reticulata'' || 1.0 || 1.0 || light red || semi-double || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/65680/Camellia-Royalty-(japonica-%25C3%2597-reticulata)/Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426070734/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/65680/camellia-royalty-(japonica-%C3%97-reticulata)/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Royalty' (japonica × reticulata) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17 }}</ref> 
|-
| Spring Festival || × ''williamsii'', ''cuspidata'' || 4.0 || 2.5 || pink || semi-double || <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/92881/Camellia-Spring-Festival-(cuspidata-hybrid)/Details |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Spring Festival' (cuspidata hybrid) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2013-04-29}}</ref>
|-
| Tom Knudsen || ''japonica'' × ''reticulata'' || 2.5 || 2.5 || deep red || double paeony || <ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/67050/Camellia-Tom-Knudsen-(japonica-%25C3%2597-reticulata)/Details |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426113619/https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/67050/camellia-tom-knudsen-(japonica-%C3%97-reticulata)/details |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2023 |title=RHS Plant Selector Camellia 'Tom Knudsen' (japonica × reticulata) AGM / RHS Gardening |publisher=Apps.rhs.org.uk |access-date=2020-04-17 }}</ref> 
|-
| Tristrem Carlyon || ''reticulata'' || 4.0 || 2.5 || rose pink || double paeony || <ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/70663/Camellia-Tristrem-Carlyon-(reticulata-hybrid)/Details
| title = ''Camellia'' 'Tristrem Carlyon' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 12 April 2020}}</ref> 
|}
<gallery>
File:Camellia x williamsii 'Brigadoon'.JPG|Simple-flowered ''Camellia × williamsii'' cv. 'Brigadoon'
File:Semi-double Camelia cultivar.jpg|Semi-double-flowered camellia cultivar
File:PinkCamelliaJaponica.jpg|Double-flowered camellia cultivar
File:Camellia hyb Yuri s Yellow Kalenderkopie.jpg|Double-flowered hybrid cv. 'Jury's Yellow'
</gallery>