Casa do Souto

Casa do Souto (C.japonica), European Reg. No. 133.  Seedling of unknown parents.  Grown and named by Clara Gil de Seabra, of Porto, Portugal, a former ICS Director for Portugal. Name is that of her country home and garden in Portugal.  The plant was first noticed in 2000, and first bloomed in 2002.  It is a rapidly growing, spreading plant, which blooms mid-season for an average length of time.  The large flower (13 cm in width and 2 cm in depth) is a flat, saucer shaped semi-double bloom, with an average of 14 curved petals.  There are also 40 petaloids on average.  Both petaloids and petals are red-purple (RHS 57C) with veins of deeper red-purple color (RHS 67C group).  Stamens – some 180 on average – are golden with pinkish white filaments, arranged in a large spreading cluster similar to Higo stamens.  The flower is not totally round, as outer petals vary from 13 cm to 11 cm in width. Spent flowers fall whole.Leaves are dark green, of medium size (9 cm long and 6 cm wide), and are curved, obovate, with acuminate apice, and finely serrated.  The lanceolate buds are reddish pink.  The sparse round fruits are approximately 4 cm in diameter, and green.  The camellia was exhibited at Portuguese camellia shows at Celorico de Basto (2016, 2017, 2018), and Porto (2017 and 2018).