Camellia Species, Green Tea Shrub, Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis)

by kennedyh Aug 16, 2003 3:53 PM

Flowers on the Tea Plant in Japan, October 1992

Tea Plantation in Japan, October 1992. The regular shape of the bushes results from the machine harvesting of the tea leaf tips.

Tea Plantation near Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka, July 1964. The tea is being harvested by hand, picking just the growing tip with two new leaves.

A single plant cultivated in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden. Early spring.

An immature fruit. Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, eary spring.

Close up of a flower. Very fragrant. Rio de Janeiro, late autumn.

A bee doing its job on pollinating the flower. Rio de Janeiro, late autumn.

Tea Plantation Kerala India March 1997. The tea is harvested completely by hand

One year old plant

VanDusen Botanical Gardens - Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Ripe Camellia sinensis seeds. The shape is spherical, flatened on one side. Woody and smooth, except on the flatened side. 3 views: flat side up, smooth side up, and lateral.

Camellia sinensis seeds after soaking for 1-2 weeks. The woody shell started splitting on the rough/flattened side of the seeds.

Camellia sinensis, one year old plant.

I have 10 of these used as hedge in zone 8, Hartsville, SC. Want to try making tea.

Camellia sinensis - Small plant at Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The leaf that the butterfly is sitting on is part of a nearby plant, not C. sinensis.