Camellia pitardii
Cohen-Stuart
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(c) Phil Bendle, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Phil Bendle
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Phil Bendle, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Phil Bendle
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc-sa
(c) erionoire, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by erionoire
Summary
A slow-growing evergreen shrub reaching 7 m tall. Year-round foliage with flowers from April to June and seeds maturing in October. Self-fertile, bee-pollinated hermaphrodite. Tolerates light sandy or medium loamy well-drained soils in mildly acid to neutral pH. Grows in semi-shade or full sun with moist soil preference. Hardy to UK zone 8.
Description
A shrub or small tree. It grows 3-7 m tall. The leaves are narrowly oval and 6-10 cm long by 3-4 cm wide. They are pale green underneath. The flowers occur singly near the ends of branches. They are red, pink or white and 5-6 cm across.
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Oil Edible Uses: Oil An oil obtained from the seed is used in cooking.
Traditional Uses
The seeds yield an edible oil. The flower petals are used as a potherb.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
None known
Distribution
It is a tropical plant. It grows in forests and thickets between 500-2,500 m above sea level. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Where It Grows
Asia, China,
Cultivation
Prefers a woodland soil but thrives in a warm open well-drained loam if leafmould is added. A calcifuge pant, preferring a pH between 5 and 7. Prefers the partial shade of a light woodland. Prefers a wet summer and a cool but not very frosty dry winter. Plants are not very self-compatible, self-fertilized flowers produce few seeds and these are of low viability. This species is closely related to C. reticulata. This plant is sometimes cultivated in Asia for the edible oil in its seed.
Propagation
Seed - can be sown as soon as it is ripe in a greenhouse. Stored seed should be pre-soaked for 24 hours in warm water and the hard covering around the micropyle should be filed down to leave a thin covering. It usually germinates in 1 - 3 months at 23°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions when they are more than 15cm tall and give them some protection from winter cold for their first year or three outdoors. Cuttings of almost ripe wood, 10 - 15cm with a heel, August/September in a shaded frame. High percentage but slow. Cuttings of firm wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, end of June in a frame. Keep in a cool greenhouse for the first year. Leaf-bud cuttings, July/August in a frame.
Other Uses
Oil None known Special Uses
Synonyms
References (3)
- Liu, Yi-tao, & Long, Chun-Lin, 2002, Studies on Edible Flowers Consumed by Ethnic Groups in Yunnan. Acta Botanica Yunnanica. 24(1):41-56
- Luo, B., et al, 2019, Wild edible plants collected by Hani from terraced rice paddy agroecosystem in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 15:56
- www.tradewindsfruit.com
