Section：Thea
Conservation Status：Near Threatened
Remarks：This name is accepted
References：
Camellia kwangtungensis Hung T. Chang Taxon. Gen. Camellia 127. (1981) Heterotypic Synonym
Camellia yungkiangensis Hung T. Chang Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 20(1): 95. (1981) Heterotypic Synonym
Camellia costata S.Y.Hu & S.Y.Liang Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 20(1): 94. (1981) Accepted Name
广东山茶 张宏达. 1981. 山茶属植物的系统研究.中山大学学报（自然科学）论丛(1):127-128 Chinese Name
Camellia costata S.Y.Hu & S.Y.Liang Chang Hung-ta and Bruce Bartholomew (1984). Camellias, p.144 Cited Name
3 show +
» Description
Camellia costata Hu, Subgenus Thea, Sect.
Thea, Ser.
Gymnogynae Chang, Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 1981(1):93. 1981. Chang
Hung-ta and Bruce Bartholomew (1984). Camellias, p.144: Camellia
costata Hu & Liang in Chang, Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 1981(1):94. 1981.
[Description] Small tree, branchlets
glabrous. Leaves coriaceous, narrowly oblong or lanceolate, 9-12 cm long, 2.5-3.
5 cm wide, apices acuminate, bases cuneate, slightly shiny above, yellowish-green
below, glabrous, lateral veins 7-9 pairs, midvein protruding on theupper
surface, upper half of the margins sparsely serrate, petioles 5-8 mmlong. Flowers1-2,
axillary; pedicels 6-7 mm long, glabrous; bracts 2, on the middle of the
pedicel, early deciduous; sepals 5, suborbicular, 5.5-6 mm long, bases slightly
connate, glabrous; petals 6-7, glabrous; stamens nearly free; ovaries glabrous;
styles glabrous, apices 3-cleft. Capsules globose, 1.4 cm in diameter, 1-locular,
valves 1.5 mm thick, 1 seeded.
Zhao (2024): New branchlets glabrous, leaf buds glabrous or puberulous at apex. Leaf blade elliptic, oblong to lanceolate, 5.5–17 × 2–5 cm, glabrous. Flower 2.5–4 cm in diameter. Pedicel 5–20 mm long, glabrous. Sepals 3–5 × 4–7 mm, outside glabrous or puberulous at apex, inside sericeous. Ovary glabrous. Style apically 3-lobed, glabrous. Capsule ca. 2 cm in diameter; pericarp ca. 1 mm thick. Fl. October to November, fr. July to September.
Distribution. China: Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou.
Camellia costata is distinguished from C. sinensis by its usually glabrous leaf bud and ovary, whereas the latter is generally hairy on these parts. Chemical analysis revealed that the leaves of C. costata collected from the natural populations at Zhaoping, Guangxi, contained 0.2–0.42% caffeine and 23.4–28.7% tea polyphenols (Li et al. 2019), suggesting a special germplasm resource of tea plants with low caffeine and high polyphenol.
Notes. Ming (1992) treated C. danzaiensis, C. kwangtungensis, and C. yungkiangensis as the heterotypic synonyms of C. costata. Camellia danzaiensis is clearly conspecific with C. yungkiangensis, and their plants usually bear shorter leaves and longer pedicels. By contrast, C. costata seems to have longer leaves and shorter pedicels (Fig. 2.1). However, the significance of the divergence between them requires more data to explore, especially additional collections and molecular phylogenetic analysis, before a further taxonomic revision is made. The situation is also true for C. kwangtungensis, a species with very few available specimens for research. Therefore, Ming’s (1992, 2000) circumscription of C. costata is provisionally accepted here.
Camellia costata has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2015. Camellia costata is listed as Near Threatened.
» Distribution
China: Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou.
» Description
突肋茶Camellia costata Hu et S. Y. Liang, sp. nov. 张宏达，1981. 《山茶属植物的系统研究》第117页。【标本】广西：昭平，南荣乡，石柱山，海拔850米，生山谷溪边，梁盛业6505169 (模式标本
Typus! in Univ. Sunyatsen)云南：屏边，一区，石板乡，阿达口，冯国楣5024。【形态特征】小乔木，嫩枝无毛。叶革质，狭长圆形或披针形，长9-12厘米，宽2.5-3.5厘米，先端渐尖，基部楔形，上面稍发亮，下面黄绿色，无毛，侧脉7-9对，与中肋在上面突起，边缘上半部有疏锯齿，叶柄长5-8毫米。花1-2朵腋生，花柄长6-7毫米，无毛，苞片2，生于花柄中部，早落；萼片5,近圆形，长5-6毫米，基部略连生，无毛；花瓣6-7片，无毛；雄蕊近离生；子房无毛，花柱无毛，先端3裂。蒴果球形，直径1.4厘米，1室，果爿厚1.5毫米，种子1个。
突肋茶最近一次于 2015年进行了IUCN濒危等级评估，被评为近危 Near Threatened（NT）。
» Distribution
Species in the Same Section: 丹寨秃茶 Camellia danzaiensis Hung T.Chang & K.M.Lan、防城茶 Camellia fangchengensis S.Ye Liang & Y.C.Zhong、秃房茶 Camellia gymnogyna Hung T.Chang、滇缅茶 Camellia irrawadiensis P.K.Barua、广西茶 Camellia kwangsiensis Hung T. Chang、膜叶茶 Camellia leptophylla S.Ye Liang ex Hung T.Chang、马关茶 Camellia makuanica Hung T.Chang, Y.J.Tan & P.S.Wang、细萼茶 Camellia parvisepala Hung T. Chang、毛叶茶 Camellia ptilophylla Hung T.Chang、汝城毛叶茶 Camellia pubescens Hung T.Chang & C.X.Ye、大叶茶 Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze var. assamica (Choisy) Kitamura、茶 Camellia sinensis var. sinensis、大厂茶 Camellia tachangensis F.S.Zhang、大理茶 Camellia taliensis (W.W.Sm.) Melch.、五室茶 Camellia quinquelocularis Hung T.Chang & S.Ye Liang、厚轴茶 Camellia crassicolumna Hung T. Chang、五柱茶 Camellia pentastyla Hung T.Chang、皱叶茶 Camellia crispula Hung T. Chang、榕江茶 Camellia yungkiangensis Hung T. Chang、狭叶茶 Camellia angustifolia Hung T. Chang、白毛茶 Camellia sinensis var. pubilimba Hung T.Chang、麻豆茶 Camellia sinensis var. madoensis T.V.Nguyen, V.D.Luong & N.Trieu Le、细枝茶 Camellia tenuistipa Orel, Curry & Luu、大苞茶 Camellia grandibracteata Hung T.Chang, Y.J.Tan, F.L.Yu & P.S.Wang、广南茶 Camellia kwangnanica Hung T.Chang, H.S.Wang & B.H.Chen、疏齿大厂茶 Camellia tachangensis var. remotiserrata (Hung T.Chang, F.L.Yu & P.S.Wang) T.L.Ming、西里茶 Camellia sealyana T.L.Ming、多瓣茶 Camellia crispula var. multiplex (Hung T.Chang, Y.J.Tan & P.S.Wang) S.X.Yang、德宏茶 Camellia sinensis var. dehungensis (Hung T.Chang, H.S.Wang & B.H.Chen) T.L.Ming、锡安山茶 Camellia siangensis T.K.Paul & M.P.Nayar、台湾山茶 Camellia formosensis (Masam. & S.Suzuki) M.H.Su, C.F.Hsieh & C.H.Tsou、三萼茶 Camellia yangii D.Wei Zhao
