Vasilis Teodoridis:
Theaceae | Camellia
88. Camellia pitardii Cohen-Stuart; Meded. Proefstat. Thee. 40: 72. 1916.
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Shrubs or trees; 3-7(-9) m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets purplish brown; glabrous. Petiole 7-12 mm; glabrous or sometimes adaxially pubescent; leaf blade elliptic; oblong-elliptic; or oblong-oblanceolate; 6-10(-14) x 2.5-3.5(-8.4) cm; thinly to thickly leathery; abaxially pale green; adaxially dark green; both surfaces glabrous; midvein raised on both surfaces; secondary veins 6-8 on each side of midvein; slender; and visible to slightly raised or sometimes obscure on both surfaces or rarely adaxially impressed; base cuneate to broadly cuneate; margin serrulate or apiculately serrulate; apex acuminate to caudate. Flowers subterminal; solitary; subsessile; 5-6(-10) cm in diam. Bracteoles and sepals 9-10; caducous; membranous; margin ciliolate; outer 4 bracteoles and sepals lunate to semiorbicular; 2-5 mm; outside glabrous or glabrescent; inner bracteoles and sepals orbicular to broadly obovate; 1-2 cm; outside pubescent or glabrous; inside glabrous. Petals 5 or 6; rose; pink; or white; obovate to broadly obovate; 3-4.5(-8) x 2-3.5(-4.4) cm; basally connate for ca. 1 cm; apex emarginate. Stamens 2-3(-5.1) cm; glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for 1-1.5(-2.8) cm. Ovary globose; tomentose; 3-loculed; style 2-2.7 cm; glabrous or basally tomentose. Capsule oblate; 2.5-3.5(-7) x 3-5(-8) cm; 3-loculed; pericarp 2-3 mm thick when dry; splitting into 3 valves. Seeds brown; globose to semiglobose; 1-1.5 cm in diam.; glabrous. Fl. Dec-Mar; fr. Aug-Oct.
? Forests; thickets; 500-2500(-2700) m. N and NE Guangxi; Guizhou; W Hubei; Hunan; Sichuan; NE and SE Yunnan