Vasilis Teodoridis:
Theaceae | Camellia
55. Camellia caudata Wallich; Pl. Asiat. Rar. 3: 36. 1832.
????? chang wei mao rui cha
Shrubs or trees; 2-8 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; year-old branchlets straw colored; glabrous; current year branchlets pubescent and villous. Petiole 3-7 mm; villous or pubescent; leaf blade elliptic; oblong-elliptic; oblong; lanceolate; or narrowly lanceolate; 3.5-12 x 0.8-4(-5) cm; papery or thinly leathery; abaxially pale green; sparsely appressed pubescent but densely villous along midvein when young; soon glabrescent except along midvein; and becoming grayish white when dry; adaxially dark green; shiny; and hirtellous along midvein; secondary veins 8-10 on each side of midvein; abaxially raised; and adaxially obscure to slightly impressed; base cuneate to broadly cuneate; margin serrulate to crenulate-serrulate; apex long caudate to caudate. Flowers axillary; solitary or to 3 in a cluster. Pedicel 2-4 mm; thickened toward apex; bracteoles 4 or 5; semiorbicular to broadly ovate; 1-2 mm; ± covering pedicel; outside pubescent; margin ciliolate. Calyx cupular; 3-3.5(-5) mm; lobes 5; broadly ovate to suborbicular; 2-3.5 mm; leathery; outside pubescent to densely villous; inside glabrous; margin membranous and ciliolate. Petals 5-7; white; broadly obovate to obovate; outside farinose-puberulent; outer 2 petals distinct; 8-10 mm; remaining petals 1.3-2 cm; basally connate for 2-3 mm; apex rounded to subtruncate. Stamens 1-1.5 cm; outer filament whorl basally connate for 6-8 mm; distinct part densely villous. Ovary densely white tomentose; style 0.9-1.3 cm; white tomentose; apically 3-parted for 1-2 mm. Capsule ellipsoid-globose; 1-1.7 x 1-2 cm; l-loculed with l seed; apex apiculate; pericarp thinly leathery; columella abortive. Seed brown; globose. Fl. Oct-Jan; fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 30; 60.
Evergreen broad-leaved forests; thickets; (200-)400-1400(-2200) m. Fujian; Guangdong; Guangxi; Hainan; Hubei; Hunan; Taiwan; Xizang (M?dog); SE Yunnan [NE India; N Myanmar; Nepal; N Vietnam].
The published occurrence of Camellia caudata var. caudata in Bhutan (Sealy; Rev. Gen. Camellia; 105. 1958; Ming; Monogr. Gen. Camellia; 202. 2000) is based on T. J. Booth s.n. 1 Nov and 20 Dec at K. However; Thomas Jonas Booth’s collections referring to Bootan were made east of Bhutan; in SE Xizang or NE India; in 1850-1851 (Grierson & Long; Fl. Bhutan 1: 8. 1983).