台湾山茶 Camellia formosensis (Masam. & S.Suzuki) M.H.Su, C.F.Hsieh & C.H.TsouCamellia formosensis

Camellia formosensis (Masam. & S.Suzuki) M.H.Su, C.F.Hsieh & C.H.Tsou in Bot. Stud. (Taipei) 50: 481 (2009)

 =Thea formosensis Masamune et Suzuki, S. Suzuki, ed. Taiwan Zyumoku Benran. 262. 1937.— NEOTYPE (designated here): Formosa (Taiwan),  Taityu (Nantou Co.), Gyoti (Yuchih), 8 Nov 1935, f lowering, S. Suzuki s. n. (TAI no. 218078).

 =Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze forma formosensis Kitamura, Acta Phytotax. Geobot. 14: 59. 1950; Hsieh, Yang & Lin, Fl. Taiwan 2nd. ed. 2: 672-673. 1996.— TYPE: Japan, Kanaya Tea Research Station (Introduced  from Taiwan), 21 Nov 1949, flowering, S. Kitamura s. n. (holotype: KYO).

=Camellia sinensis (L.) Ktze. ssp. busisanensis (Sasaki) Lu & Yang. Lu & Yang, Quarterly journal of Chinese forestry 20(1): 101. 1987.  (Quart. J. Chin. For.)

Trees to 10 m tall; branches and branchlets terete, smooth; winter buds ovate-lanceolate, glabrous. Leaves thin-coriaceous, oblong, 8–15 cm long, 2.5–5 cm broad, acuminate to cuspidate, cuneate at base, finely serrate, glabrous on both surfaces, midrib elevated on both sides; petioles 3–6 mm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or 3–5 in fascicles; pedicels cernuous, 5–8 mm long, bracts 2; sepals 5, broadly ovate, 2.5–3 mm long; petals 4–7, white, suborbicular, 1–1.2 cm long; stamens 5–8 mm long; ovary glabrous, styles 4 mm long, 3-fid at apex, glabrous. Fruit globose or depressed globose, 2 cm across.

Camellia formosensis is endemic to Taiwan in the central, southern and southeastern parts of the island, including Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung Counties at elevations of 800-1,800 m asl. The estimated extent of occurrence is 6,096 km2. It is used locally to brew tea, known as 'Taiwanese wild tea', and has been called the 'tea of the gods' by indigenous people.

Taxonomic notes：The endemic ‘Taiwanese wild tea’ represents an invaluable natural resource for the tea industry. The taxon is distributed in the central, southern and eastern regions of Taiwan with populations shrinking dramatically in the past decade. Taxonomically, it has long been treated as a lower taxon either under Camellia sinensis var. sinensis or C. sinensis var. assamica. Nevertheless, our recent morphological study indicated that this taxon is different from the other two taxa. M.H. SU et al (2009) provided molecular evidence for reassessing its systematic status. Samples representing all the wild populations that are available in Taiwan were sequenced along with samples from the other two taxa at the introns 12-16 and 23 of the RPB2 gene of nuclear DNA. Phylogenetic analysis recovered a monophyletic group of ‘Taiwanese wild tea’ well separated from the other taxa. In addition, genetic distances and previous phenetic analyses all supported the identity of this species. A new combination of C. formosensis (Masamune et Suzuki) M. H. Su, C. F. Hsieh et C. H. Tsou is proposed herein。

Camellia formosensis has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2015. Camellia formosensis is listed as Vulnerable under criteria B1ab(iii,v).

  Endemic to Taiwan: Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung Counties 

台湾山茶 Camellia formosensis (Masam. & S.Suzuki) M.H.Su, C.F.Hsieh & C.H.Tsou in Bot. Stud. (Taipei) 50: 481 (2009)。台湾原生种，别名：大叶野生茶

乔木，高达10米；枝及小枝圆柱形，光滑；冬芽卵状披针形，无毛。叶薄革质，长圆形，长8-15厘米，宽2.5-5厘米，渐尖至前突，基部楔形，有细锯齿，两面无毛，中脉两面凸起；叶柄长3-6毫米。花腋生，单生或3-5朵成束；花梗细长，长5-8毫米，苞片2；萼片5，宽卵形，长2.5-3毫米；花瓣4-7，白色，近圆形，长1-1.2厘米；雄蕊长5-8毫米；子房无毛，花柱长4毫米，顶端3裂，无毛。果实球形或扁球形，直径2厘米。

台湾山茶（Camellia formosensis）叶中肋2面突起，和阿萨姆茶（C. sinensis var. assamica)十分相似，差别在于本种顶芽平滑无毛，而阿萨姆茶顶芽被伏毛。清康熙36年（1697年）以前，汉人即入水沙连采山茶制茶。目前台湾山茶主要分布于中部、南部及东部的中低海拔山区，而各地品系略有不同，味道亦然。台湾山茶在20世纪时曾被当成茶树（Camellia sinensis）或是阿萨姆茶（Camellia sinensis var. assamica）的变种。2009年时经过DNA分析，确认台湾山茶应被独立成一种。同时，因为台湾山茶之台东族群在外部形态上已有明显分化，所以将之处理成变种并命名为C. formosensis var. yungkangensis ，称之为永康山茶。台湾茶业改良场鱼池分场曾以台湾山茶与缅甸大叶种阿萨姆茶树配种，培育新品种'台茶18号'红玉红茶。为南投县鱼池乡主要种植的品种。而茶业改良场亦单独以永康山茶培育出'台茶24号'。

台湾山茶（C. formosensis）最近一次于 2015年进行了IUCN濒危等级评估，被评为易危 Vulnerable（VU）。

台湾特有。分布于南投县、云林县、嘉义县、高雄县、屏东县、台东县