| English Name | Grantham's Camellia |
|---|---|
| Status in China | Endangered (EN). Recorded in China Plant Red Data Book and Illustration of Rare & endangered plant in Guangdong Province. |
Description:
Trees, to 8 m tall. Leaves leathery, elliptic, 8-11 cm long, 3-5 cm wide, apex acute, base obtuse, glabrous, margin serrulate; petiole 0.8-1.2 cm long. Flowers solitary and terminal, white, 10-14 cm in diam., sessile; bracts and sepals leathery, orbicular, covered with grayish silky hairs outside; petals 8, broadly obovate, 5-7 cm long, glabrous, basal 1.5 cm connate; stamens in many whorls, 2.5 cm long, distinct, glabrous; ovary hairy, 5-locular, styles 2 cm long, apex 5-lobed. Capsule globose, 6 cm in diam., wrapped with persistent calyx, dehiscent in 5 valves.
Distribution:
Tai Mo Shan and Ma On Shan. Guangdong.
Habitat and Ecology:
In forest. Flowering: Mar.-Apr.
The large white flower make this species an attractive ornamental plant. Seed oil is edible. The species was first discovered in a ravine of Tai Mo Shan in 1955 and only one individual was found at that time. Since then, a few more wild populations were found in Ma On Shan and also in Guangdong. In Hong Kong, the localities of its occurrence are in Country Parks under protection. The species is protected under the Forestry Regulations (Cap. 96 sub. leg.). AFCD have been actively propagating this plant and reintroducing it to the wild. Ex-situ conservation has also been adopted and living specimens are displayed in the Shing Mun Arboretum.
References:
張宏達，1991：廣東植物誌2：129，圖82。廣東科技出版社，廣州。
張宏達，1998：中國植物誌49(3): 18，圖版4：1-5。科學出版社，北京。
閔天祿，2000：世界山茶屬的研究224-225，圖版48：1-5。雲南科技出版社，昆明。
Sealy, J.R., 1956: Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 81: 182.
