Camellia is a beautiful flower native to Japan, which has a reputation for being a capricious impatient young lady with a beautiful appearance and a cold heart. It captivates with exquisite rigor and elegance. By its beauty, camellia can easily compete with a rose - it is not for nothing that it is called the Japanese analogue of the flower queen.
A bit of history
An evergreen shrub with beautiful flowers from the Tea family came to Europe by mistake - instead of a real tea bush. The appearance of charming camellia, Europeans owe the botanist Kamelius, who brought a flower from the Philippines. According to another version, his last name sounds like Kamel. But it’s quite clear where the roots of the European name of a beautiful plant, called by the Japanese “tsubaki”, come from.
The first information about the flower dates back to the 1st century. We are talking about red camellias, but information about whites appears in the 7th century. Moreover, the snow-white color of the petals was akin to the miracle that the emperor demanded that such flowers be delivered to him.
It is not surprising that the exotic white and red flowers brought by Kamel without aroma fascinated Europeans. They gained special fame thanks to the work of Dumas the father - "The Lady with the Camellias". The main character used buttonholes with them as a decoration. After that, many women wanted to decorate their boudoirs with beautiful camellias, which became a symbol of gentle beauty. But to grow a fragile flower at home in the northern climate of Europe for a long time did not work.
Now, thanks to the efforts of breeders, there are many varieties that can be grown both in pots at home and in the fresh air. Camellia in gardens is grown exclusively in warm regions. You can admire its colorful flowering in nature in a number of Asian countries, in southern Russia and the Caucasus. Garden camellia is also represented by a number of hybrid varieties that are resistant to cold.
Camellia usually blooms with single flowers, but in some varieties 2-3 buds grow. Coloring can be white, cream or various shades of red and pink. Flowering lasts up to 4 months.
The main types and varieties of camellias
Japanese
Pictured: Guilio Nuccio
Represents sprawling decorative bushes with a height of 1.5-6 m with an abundant number of flowers. Flowering occurs in December-April. Among gardeners, Japanese camellia varieties are especially popular. They are grown in indoor conditions, greenhouses and gardens. In Japan, they are considered the main plant of the country along with sakura and are often used in floristry.
The variety "Guilio Nuccio" blooms with small flowers of colorful raspberry pink hues.
Pictured: Brushfield Yellow
“Brushfield Yellow” even in the photo impresses with its unusual color. The core of the flower is creamy, and the petals are snow-white. Among other varieties, its bushes are the smallest.
“Lady Campbell” is one of the most frost-resistant varieties of Japanese camellia. Shrubs grow up to 2 meters, and the flowers look like peonies.
Most often grown "Alba" with snow-white simple petals. No less popular is the variety with the beautiful name "Winter Rose", characterized by double flowers of white or pink color. In hybrid varieties, the petals may have a spotty color.
Chinese or tea
It grows with tall bushes or trees up to 10 m high. Therefore, it is also referred to as a tea bush. Large fragrant flowers are painted white or cream yellow. They are often added to tea blends.
Chinese camellia grows in China, Kenya, Georgia, India and Japan. In Russia, it is found in the Krasnodar Territory. It blooms from late summer to mid-autumn. Indoor is usually not grown.
Mountain or real
It grows on the mountain islands of Japan, and its other name is sasanqua. It is indicated by three hieroglyphs - mountain, tea and flower, which most eloquently characterizes the view. It is these camellias that are usually used in the traditional tea ceremony of the Japanese.
The species has many colorful varieties and frost-resistant hybrids. It is suitable for indoor cultivation, as it differs in small dimensions. Many of its varieties are classified as camellia home.
Bushes with thin branches can grow up to 2-5 m. Leaflets of the lower part are pubescent, which is a distinctive feature of the species. The color of the petals is familiar - from snow-white to red-pink shades. Varieties with raspberry-red flowers of an asymmetric form usually prevail. The abundant flowering of mountain camellia can be admired from November to January.
Among the popular varieties, it is worth noting Bilocolor (snow-white petals with a pink border around the edge), Cleopatra (simple elongated petals of a pink color) and Chansonnier (pink terry flowers).
Mesh
The species received its name for the presence of a thin mesh on the petals. Flowers differ in a wide range of colors - from snow-white to dark shades of pink and red. They have a subtle subtle aroma.
The flowers of garden varieties are especially large, some hybrids have yellow stamens in the center. The most famous representative of the species is Captain Rose.
When crossing netted and Japanese camellias, a series of Williams hybrids was obtained. They have perfectly taken root in temperate latitudes, bloom longer and are distinguished by brighter, variegated colors.
Saluyonskaya
It is she who is the basis for the creation of hybrid varieties that are resistant to the effects of cold. The bushes grow to 1.5 m and delight the eye with large flowers of pink-raspberry, red-burgundy shades. Among garden varieties, the species is considered the least whimsical.
Oilseed
Evergreen shrubs up to 10 m tall are grown on the expanses of the mountain regions of China and near rivers. This camellia blooms with large white flowers in September and October. They grow it not for the sake of beauty, but to get valuable camellia oil from the seeds of the plant.
Symbolism and interesting facts
In China, this beautiful plant symbolizes beauty and is the personification of fortitude, because flowering occurs in autumn and winter. According to feng shui, a flower attracts luck. In ikebana, it is combined with a pine branch. Such a composition identifies longevity, and a flower at the same time means tenderness. In China, red camellia symbolizes a sincere feeling of love, yellow - a fiery passion, white - dreams and an anticipation of a dream come true.
Among the Japanese, camellia symbolized the short life of a warrior, lived in the glory of his victories. No wonder it was originally considered a flower of the samurai. There was also a belief that the warrior who touched her would soon say goodbye to life. It arose from the fact that the camellia, when blooming, does not scatter with rain of petals, but falls to the ground with a whole inflorescence, like a head from shoulders.
Being a flower of samurai, camellia is considered a good choice for a male tattoo. Her image will testify to the stamina and good taste of the owner of the tattoo and will attract good luck to him. In Japanese, the image of white camellias on a tattoo is a symbol of long life.
By the way, there is a very interesting article on the most beautiful tattoos on our site most-beauty.ru. If you are thinking of getting a tattoo, follow the link and find something suitable for yourself.
At all times, this flower has a dual meaning. On the one hand, it is a symbol of nobility and spiritual purity, on the other - the personification of sadness and cold indifference. It is curious that the white camellia in America was used as a symbol of the fair-skinned race among the adherents of the Ku Klux Klan.
Beautiful Tsubaki is considered a symbol of cold beauty. It is sometimes called the "stone flower", which is preferred by women who can love only by calculation. Therefore, these flowers are rarely given, and even more so it is not customary to use them in wedding bouquets. But jewelry with camellias, which are found in many collections, are considered a valuable gift.
Madame Coco and the Camellia
The flower, combining tenderness and rigor, has become a symbol of the Coco Chanel brand. This strong woman gave Camellia the symbolism of exquisite mystery. Simple and enchanting with its magnificence, the flower won the heart of Coco after reading Dumas novel. But there is another version of her special love for camellias.
Coco first received a flower as a gift from her lover, Arthur Kapel. Subsequently, she constantly brought a bouquet of camellias to the place of his tragic death. For Madame Coco, this flower became the personification of her love. A special sympathy in his eyes was given to him by the absence of a smell that could kill the favorite perfume.
Whatever the interpretation of the beautiful flower, he still leaves few indifferent. Attractive appearance and colorful bright bloom overshadowed the main drawback - increased moodiness when growing, making camellia a favorite of many gardeners. Since the time of Dumas, the "Japanese rose" has remained that mysterious and attractive flower in which everyone finds his own special meaning and symbolism.
Posted by skywriter13