Camellia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae, which are found in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. Camellias are famous throughout East Asia; which are known as cháhuā (茶花, 'tea flower') in Chinese, tsubaki (椿) in Japanese, dongbaek-kkot (동백꽃) in Korean. Of economic importance in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, leaves of C. sinensis are processed to create the popular beverage tea. The ornamental C. japonica, C. sasanqua, C. reticulata and their hybrids as well as other species in this genus are the source of hundreds of garden cultivars. As important woody oil plants, C. oleifera and C. japonica etc. produces camellia seed oil, used in cooking and cosmetics.[more]
