Varieties of camellias that bloom in
Portland from December thru May
Camellias are native to southeast Asia.
Four thousand years ago the Chinese used the leaves of C.
sinensis for tea and the seeds of C. oleifera to extract oil.
Buddhist monks supposedly propagated (and were responsible
for distributing) flowering camellias throughout China, Korea,
and Japan starting in ca. 1200 BC. Europeans were introduced
to the camellia in the early 1700's during visits to Asian ports;
Jocob Kamel, a Jesuit missionary for whom the flowering shrub
is named, first brought the plant to Europe when he mistook it
for its tea-producing relative. Flowering camellias were
introduced to America in the 1790's; they became widespread in
the 1830's after plantations near Charleston found they could
be grown in their landscapes.
Camellias are long-lived, with some
Asian specimens reportedly 500 years old; once established, they
need very little pampering. A significant number of plants,
including a wide variety of C. oleifera crosses recently developed
in the US, are also capable of withstanding relatively severe
winters.
Flower colors vary from white to dark
red, with all shades in between, including striped or mottled;
yellow species have recently been found as well. Flower
shapes range from simple to full doubles, with diameters from
2 to 20 cm. More than 3000 varieties have been described.
Although C. japonicas are most widely
cultivated, C. sasanquas and C. reticulatas are also planted widely,
and many other flowering species and hybrids are known. Cultivars
can provide blooms from October through May, with sasanquas
the earliest bloomers. The sasanquas below, in full bloom in December,
were photographed (in the rain) at the South Carolina Botanical
Garden, Clemson University; the Winter Garden in Portland's Forest
Park also has several specimens that usually bloom by December
