| Hong Kong Camellia Camellia hongkongensis |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
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See text
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Theaceae |
| Genus: | Camellia |
| Species: | C. hongkongensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Camellia hongkongensis Seemann |
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Camellia hongkongensis (Chinese: 香港茶, the Hong Kong Camellia, is a species of Camellia.
Camellia hongkongensis is a small evergreen tree which can grow to 10 m-30 feet tall. Of the Camellia species native to Hong Kong, only this species bears red flowers.
Its young branches are reddish brown. The leaves are leathery and oblong with 7-13 cm long. The young branches and leaf are glabrous.[1]
In Hong Kong, three individuals of the species were first discovered in a ravine in Victoria Peak by Colonel Eyre in 1849; it is later found in Pok Fu Lam, Mount Nicholson, Mount Parker on Hong Kong Island. It is also found in Guangdong.[1]
Specimens of the Hong Kong Camellia are living in the Shing Mun Arboretum public gardens.[1] In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under Forestry Regulations Cap. 96A.
Camellia hongkongensis was introduced to Japan in 1958 from Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.