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The Latest Key to taxa of Camellia sect. Thea (Zhao 2024) 最新茶组植物检索表

21 January 2025  181 By: wangzhonglang

Description of Camellia sect. Thea: Shrubs or trees, evergreen; trunk smooth, yellowish or brownish gray; leaves alternate, petiolate, coriaceous, margin serrulate; flowers axillary, clearly pedicellate; bracteoles 2–4, caducous; sepals persistent; petals white; stamens numerous, glabrous; style 1, apically usually 3–5-lobed; capsule oblate, globose to 3–5-coccal, seeds brown or fuscous, glabrous. Usually 2n = 30.

茶组特征:灌木或乔木,常绿;树干光滑,淡黄色或棕灰色;叶互生,具叶柄,革质,边缘有细锯齿;花腋生,有明显花梗;小苞片2-4,早落;萼片宿存;花瓣白色;雄蕊多数,无毛;花柱1,顶部通常3-5裂;蒴果扁球形、球状至3-5球囊状,种子棕色或淡紫色,无毛。通常 2n = 30。

Tea plants, Camellia sect. Thea (Theaceae), are popular beverage sources worldwide. Camellia sect. Longissima is treated as a new heterotypic synonym of sect. Thea. The taxonomy of tea plants was reviewed to contain 11 natural species and seven infraspecific taxa, including 突肋茶C. costata, 皱叶茶 C. crispula, 多萼茶C. crispula var. multiplex, 防城茶C. fangchengensis, 秃房茶C. gymnogyna, 广西茶C. kwangsiensis, 广南茶C. kwangnanica, 膜叶茶C. leptophylla, 超长柄茶C. longissima, 毛叶茶C. ptilophylla, 茶C. sinensis, C. sinensis f. formosensis, 普洱茶C. sinensis var. assamica德宏茶C. sinensis var. dehungensis, 白毛茶C. sinensis var. pubilimba, 大厂茶 C. tachangensis, 疏齿大厂茶C. tachangensis var. remotiserrata, and 大理茶C. taliensis

 

While 细花山茶Camellia flosculora (2021), 大苞茶 C. grandibracteata (1983), 毛肋茶 C. pubicosta (1942), and 老挝茶C. sealyana (1999) were excluded from sect. Thea. 

 

The Latest Key to taxa of Camellia sect. Thea (Zhao 2024)

1

 Pedicel (1.7–)2–4 cm long
花梗(1.7-)2-4 厘米长

超长柄茶
C. longissima

1

 Pedicel 0.5–1.5(2) cm long  
花梗长 0.5-1.5(-2) 厘米

2

2

Ovary hairy
子房被毛

3

2

Ovary glabrous
子房无毛

10

3

Sepals hairy outside
花萼外面被毛

4

3

Sepals glabrous outside
花萼外面无毛

7

4

Flower 3.5–5.5 cm in diam
花朵直径 3.5-5.5厘米 

 皱叶茶
C. crispula 
var. crispula

4

Flower 2–3.5 cm in diam
花朵直径 2-3.5厘米 

 5

5

Leaf blade 5.5–12.5 cm wide, base obtuse to rounded
叶片宽 5.5-12.5 厘米,基部钝到圆形

防城茶C. fangchengensis

5

Leaf blade 2–7.5 cm wide, base cuneate
叶片宽 2-7.5 厘米,基部楔形

 6

6

Leaf blade 5–12 cm long, abaxially glabrescent; sepals sericeous inside
叶片长 5-12 厘米,背面后脱落;萼片内部被绢毛

白毛茶
C. sinensis 
var. pubilimba

6

Leaf blade 6.5–25 cm long, abaxially pubescent; sepals glabrous inside
叶片长 6.5-25 厘米,背面具短柔毛;萼片内部无毛

 毛叶茶
C. ptilophylla

7

New branchlets glabrous; flower 3–5.5 cm in diam., style apically (3–)5-lobed
新小枝无毛;花直径 3-5.5 厘米,花柱顶部(3-)5 裂

 8

7

New branchlets pubescent; flower 2.5–3.5 cm in diam., style apically 3-lobed
新小枝具短柔毛;花直径 2.5-3.5 厘米,花柱顶部 3 裂

 9

8

Pericarp 1.5–4 mm thick
果皮厚 1.5-4 毫米

 大理茶
C. taliensis

8

Pericarp 4–8 mm thick
果皮厚 4-8 毫米

 多萼茶
C. crispula
var. multiplex

9

Leaf blade 5–12 × 2–5 cm, leaf apex acute, shortly attenuate or rounded
叶片 5-12 x 2-5 厘米,叶先端锐尖,短渐狭或圆形


C. sinensis 
var. sinensis

9

Leaf blade 8–29 cm × 3.5–10 cm, leaf apex attenuate or acuminate
叶片 8-29 厘米×3.5-10 厘米,叶先端渐狭或渐尖

 普洱茶
C. sinensis 
var. assamica

10

Sepals hairy outside
萼片外面有毛

 广南茶
C. kwangnanica

10

Sepals glabrous outside
萼片外面无毛

11

11

Style apically 4–5-lobed
花柱顶部 4-5 裂

12

11

Style apically 3-lobed
花柱顶部 3 裂

14

12

Pericarp 4–8 mm thick
果皮厚 4-8 毫米

13

12

Pericarp 1–2 mm thick
果皮厚 1-2 毫米

15

13

New branchlets puberulous to pubescent; leaf blade abaxially puberulous
新小枝被微柔毛到短柔毛; 叶片背面被微柔毛

广西茶
C. kwangsiensis
 

13

New branchlets glabrous; leaf blade abaxially glabrous
新的小枝无毛; 叶片背面无毛

14

14

Leaf buds usually glabrous; leaf margin serrate
叶芽通常无毛;叶缘有锯齿

大厂茶
C. tachangensis 
var. tachangensis

14

Leaf buds pubescent; leaf margin usually sparsely serrate
叶芽具短柔毛;叶缘通常有疏锯齿

 疏齿大厂茶
C. tachangensis 
var. remotiserrata

15

Leaf buds glabrous or puberulous
叶芽无毛或被微柔毛

 16

15

Leaf buds pubescent
叶芽无毛

 17

16

Leaf blade abaxially glabrous; pedicel 5–20 mm long
叶片背面无毛;花梗长 5-20 毫米

突肋茶
C. costata

16

Leaf blade abaxially glabrous or sparsely puberulous; pedicel 3–7 mm long
叶片背面无毛或疏生微柔毛;花梗长 3-7 毫米

 C. sinensis 
f. formosensis

17

Sepals glabrous inside
萼片内部无毛

膜叶茶
C. leptophylla

17

Sepals sericeous inside
萼片内部被绢毛

 18

18

Sepals 3–5 × 4–8 mm
萼片 3-5 x 4-8 毫米

秃房茶
C. gymnogyna

18

Sepals 2.5–3.5 × 3–4 mm
萼片 2.5-3.5 x 3-4 毫米

 德宏茶
C. sinensis var. dehungensis


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