Camellia ( or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 described species; almost all are found in southern China and Indochina. Camellias are popular ornamental, tea, and woody-oil plants cultivated worldwide for centuries. Over 26,000 cultivars, with more than 51,000 cultivar names, including synonyms, have been registered or published.
The leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create tea, and so are of particular economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, with the processed leaves widely sold and consumed globally. The ornamental C. japonica, C. sasanqua and their hybrids are the source of hundreds of garden cultivars. C. oleifera produces tea seed oil, used in cooking and cosmetics.
Description
Vegetative characteristics
Camellia are attractive, broad-leaved,Carter, K. (n.d.). Camellias. University of California Cooperative Extension Central Coast & South Region Center for Landscape and Urban Horticulture. evergreen, up to 10–15 m tall shrubs, small trees, or rarely large trees.Russell L. Barrett. Camellia, in Phillip G. Kodela (ed.), Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Camellia [Date Accessed: 28 February 2026] The alternate, leathery leaves with serrate or rarely entire margins are petiolate or rarely sessile or amplexicaul. Flowers and fruit
The axillary or subterminal, solitary or grouped, large, hermaphrodite, fragrant or inodorous flowersSavige, T. (1975). The Search for SCENTED Camellias. The International Camellia Journal, 7. are pedicellate or subsessile. Their flowers are usually conspicuous, one to in diameter, with five to nine petals in naturally occurring species of camellias. The colors of the flowers vary from white through pink colors to red; truly yellow flowers are found only in South China and Vietnam. Tea varieties are always white-flowered. Camellia flowers throughout the genus are characterized by a dense bouquet of conspicuous yellow stamens, often contrasting with the petal colors.The International Camellia Society. Flowers of Camellias. Some research has shown that the colour of petals in some species' flowers indicate their size and how they are pollinated; species with red or yellow flowers are pollinated by sunbirds whereas species with white flowers are smaller in diameter and are pollinated by bees. The woody, 1-5-locular,Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2026). Flora of Mozambique: Cultivated plants: genus page: Camellia. https://www.mozambiqueflora.com/cult/genus.php?genus_id=959, retrieved 28 February 2026 globose or oblate, loculicidal capsule fruit with a persistent central axis bears semiglobose, globose, or polygonal, exalbuminous seeds.Flora of India: Portulacaceae-Ixonanthaceae. p. 153. (1993). India: Botanical Survey of India.
Taxonomy The genus Camellia was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. It was named by Linnaeus after the Jesuit botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who worked in the Philippines and described one of its species (although Linnaeus did not refer to Kamel's account when discussing the genus). The type species is Camellia japonica In 2022 the genus was separated into 7 sections based on phylogenetic study on 161 species. Further studies demonstrated that section Oleifera and Paracamellia should be merged into section Paracamellia. The following sections are currently recognized:
Camellia sect. Camellia Camellia sect. Chrysantha Camellia sect. Longipedicellata Camellia sect. Longissima Camellia sect. Paracamellia Camellia sect. Thea Camellia sect. Tuberculata
Species
Plants of the World Online currently includes:
Camellia albata Orel & Curry Camellia amplexicaulis (Pit.) Cohen-Stuart Camellia amplexifolia Merr. & Chun Camellia anlungensis Hung T.Chang Camellia assimiloides Sealy Camellia aurea Hung T.Chang Camellia azalea C.F.Wei Camellia brevistyla (Hayata) Cohen-Stuart Camellia bugiamapensis Orel, Curry, Luu & Q.D.Nguyen Camellia campanulata Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia candida Hung T.Chang Camellia capitata Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia cattienensis Orel Camellia caudata Wall. Camellia chekiangoleosa Hu Camellia cherryana Orel Camellia chinmeiae S.L.Lee & T.Y.A.Yang Camellia chrysanthoides Hung T.Chang Camellia concinna Orel & Curry Camellia connata (Craib) Craib Camellia corallina (Gagnep.) Sealy Camellia cordifolia (F.P.Metcalf) Nakai Camellia costata S.Y.Hu & S.Y.Liang Camellia costei H.Lév. Camellia crapnelliana Tutcher – Crapnell's camellia Camellia crassicolumna Hung T.Chang Camellia crassipes Sealy Camellia crassiphylla Ninh & Hakoda Camellia cuongiana Orel & Curry Camellia cupiformis T.L.Ming Camellia curryana Orel & Luu Camellia cuspidata (Kochs) Bean Camellia dalatensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & Hakoda Camellia debaoensis R.C.Hu & Y.Q.Liufu Camellia decora Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia dilinhensis Ninh & V.D.Luong Camellia dongnaicensis Orel Camellia dormoyana (Pierre ex Laness.) Sealy Camellia drupifera Lour. Camellia duyana Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia edithae Hance Camellia elizabethae Orel & Curry Camellia elongata (Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Rehder Camellia erubescens Orel & Curry Camellia euphlebia Merr. ex Sealy Camellia euryoides Lindl. Camellia fangchengensis S.Ye Liang & Y.C.Zhong Camellia fansipanensis J.M.H.Shaw, Wynn-Jones & V.D.Nguyen Camellia fascicularis Hung T.Chang Camellia flava (Pit.) Sealy Camellia flavida Hung T.Chang Camellia fleuryi (A.Chev.) Sealy Camellia fluviatilis Hand.-Mazz. Camellia forrestii (Diels) Cohen-Stuart Camellia fraterna Hance Camellia furfuracea (Merr.) Cohen-Stuart Camellia gaudichaudii (Gagnep.) Sealy Camellia gilbertii (A.Chev.) Sealy Camellia glabricostata T.L.Ming Camellia gracilipes Merr. ex Sealy Camellia grandibracteata Hung T.Chang, Y.J.Tan, F.L.Yu & P.S.Wang Camellia granthamiana Sealy – Grantham's camellia Camellia grijsii Hance Camellia gymnogyna Hung T.Chang Camellia harlandii Orel & Curry Camellia hatinhensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & L.T.Nguyen Camellia hekouensis C.J.Wang & G.S.Fan Camellia hiemalis Nakai Camellia honbaensis Luu, Q.D.Nguyen & G.Tran Camellia hongiaoensis Orel & Curry Camellia hongkongensis Seem. Camellia hsinpeiensis S.S.Ying Camellia huana T.L.Ming & W.J.Zhang Camellia ilicifolia Y.K.Li Camellia impressinervis Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang Camellia indochinensis Merr. Camellia ingens Orel & Curry Camellia insularis Orel & Curry Camellia × intermedia (Tuyama) Nagam. Camellia inusitata Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia japonica L. – East Asian camelliasynonym Camellia rusticana – snow camellia Camellia kissii Wall. Camellia krempfii (Gagnep.) Sealy Camellia kwangsiensis Hung T.Chang Camellia lanceolata (Blume) Seem. Camellia langbianensis (Gagnep.) P.H.Hô Camellia laotica (Gagnep.) T.L.Ming Camellia lawii Sealy Camellia leptophylla S.Ye Liang ex Hung T.Chang Camellia ligustrina Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia longicalyx Hung T.Chang Camellia longii Orel & Luu Camellia longipedicellata (Hu) Hung T.Chang & D.Fang Camellia longissima Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang Camellia lucii Orel & Curry Camellia lutchuensis T.Itô Camellia luteocerata Orel Camellia luteoflora Y.K.Li ex Hung T.Chang & F.A.Zeng Camellia luteopallida V.D.Luong, T.Q.T.Nguyen & Luu Camellia luuana Orel & Curry Camellia maiana Orel Camellia mairei (H.Lév.) Melch. Camellia maoniushanensis J.L.Liu & Q.Luo Camellia megasepala Hung T.Chang & Trin Ninh Camellia melliana Hand.-Mazz. Camellia micrantha S.Ye Liang & Y.C.Zhong Camellia mileensis T.L.Ming Camellia mingii S.X.Yang Camellia minima Orel & Curry Camellia mollis Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren Camellia montana (Blanco) Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren Camellia murauchii Ninh & Hakoda Camellia namkadingensis Soulad. & Tagane Camellia nematodea (Gagnep.) Sealy Camellia nervosa (Gagnep.) Hung T.Chang Camellia oconoriana Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia oleifera C.Abel – oil-seed camellia, tea oil camellia Camellia pachyandra Hu Camellia parviflora Merr. & Chun ex Sealy Camellia parvimuricata Hung T.Chang Camellia paucipunctata (Merr. & Chun) Chun Camellia petelotii (Merr.) Sealy synonyms:C. chrysantha, C. nitidissima – yellow camellia Camellia philippinensis Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren Camellia pilosperma S.Yun Liang Camellia pingguoensis D.Fang Camellia piquetiana (Pierre) Sealy Camellia pitardii Cohen-Stuart Camellia pleurocarpa (Gagnep.) Sealy Camellia polyodonta F.C.How ex Hu Camellia psilocarpa X.G.Shi & C.X.Ye Camellia ptilophylla Hung T.Chang Camellia pubicosta Merr. Camellia pubifurfuracea Y.C.Zhong Camellia pubipetala Y.Wan & S.Z.Huang Camellia pukhangensis N.D.Do, V.D.Luong, S.T.Hoang & T.H.Lê Camellia punctata (Kochs) Cohen-Stuart Camellia pyriparva Orel & Curry Camellia pyxidiacea Z.R.Xu, F.P.Chen & C.Y.Deng Camellia quangcuongii L.V.Dung, S.T. Hoang & Nhan Camellia reflexa Orel & Curry Camellia renshanxiangiae C.X.Ye & X.Q.Zheng Camellia reticulata Lindl. Camellia rhytidocarpa Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang Camellia rosacea Tagane, Soulad. & Yahara Camellia rosiflora Hook. Camellia rosmannii Ninh Camellia rosthorniana Hand.-Mazz. Camellia rubriflora Ninh & Hakoda Camellia salicifolia Champ. Camellia saluenensis Stapf ex Bean Camellia sasanqua Thunb. Camellia scabrosa Orel & Curry Camellia sealyana T.L.Ming Camellia semiserrata C.W.Chi Camellia septempetala Hung T.Chang & L.L.Qi Camellia siangensis T.K.Paul & M.P.Nayar Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze – tea plant Camellia sonthaiensis Luu, V.D.Luong, Q.D.Nguyen & T.Q.T.Nguyen Camellia stuartiana Sealy Camellia subintegra P.C.Huang Camellia synaptica Sealy Camellia szechuanensis C.W.Chi Camellia szemaoensis Hung T.Chang Camellia tachangensis F.S.Zhang Camellia tadungensis Orel, Curry & Luu Camellia taliensis (W.W.Sm.) Melch. – also used to make tea like C. sinensis Camellia tenii Sealy Camellia thailandica Hung T.Chang & S.X.Ren Camellia thanxaensa Hakoda & Kirino Camellia tienyenensis Orel & Curry Camellia tomentosa Orel & Curry Camellia tonkinensis (Pit.) Cohen-Stuart Camellia transarisanensis (Hayata) Cohen-Stuart Camellia trichoclada (Rehder) S.S.Chien Camellia tsaii Hu Camellia tsingpienensis Hu Camellia tuberculata S.S.Chien Camellia tuyenquangensis V.D.Luong, Le & Ninh Camellia uraku Kitam. Camellia villicarpa S.S.Chien Camellia viridicalyx Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang Camellia viscosa Orel & Curry Camellia vuquangensis V.D.Luong, Ninh & L.T.Nguyen Camellia wardii Kobuski Camellia xanthochroma K.M.Feng & L.S.Xie Camellia yokdonensis Dung bis & Hakoda Camellia yunkiangica Hung T.Chang, H.S.Wang & B.H.Chen Camellia yunnanensis (Pit. ex Diels) Cohen-Stuart
Fossil record The earliest fossil record of Camellia are the leaves of †C. abensis from the upper Eocene of Japan, †C. abchasica from the lower Oligocene of Bulgaria and †C. multiforma from the lower Oligocene of Washington, United States.Journal of Plant Research, September 2016, Volume 129, Issue 5, pp 823–831, Camellia nanningensis sp. nov.: the earliest fossil wood record of the genus Camellia (Theaceae) from East Asia by Lu-Liang Huang, Jian-Hua Jin, Cheng Quan and Alexei A.
Distribution and habitat Species of Camellia occur in the moist or dry, temperate to tropical forestsParks, C. (n.d.). Camellia species. American Camellia Society. Retrieved February 28, 2026, from https://www.americancamellias.com/education-and-camellia-care/the-camellia-family/camellia-species of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, East Himalaya, Hainan, India, Japan, Korea, Laos, Lesser Sunda Is., Myanmar, Nansei-shoto, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam at elevations of 0–3200 m above sea level. In deforested areas, Camellia may persist as shrubs in meadows and pastures.
Ecology