柳叶毛蕊茶 liu ye mao rui cha

Camellia salicifolia var. longisepala H. Keng; Camelliastrum salicifolium (Champion) Nakai; Thea salicifolia (Champion) Seemann.

Shrubs or trees, 3-6 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; year-old branchlets with indumentum ± persistent; current year branchlets spreading villous. Petiole 2-3 mm, densely villous; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, 4.5-10 × 1.5-3 cm, papery, abaxially pale green, sparsely appressed villous with indumentum more dense along midvein, and becoming grayish white when dry, adaxially dark green, and becoming grayish green when dry, hirtellous along midvein, midvein abaxially elevated and adaxially slightly impressed, secondary veins 7 or 8 on each side of midvein, abaxially raised, and adaxially obscure, base rounded, margin serrulate, apex long acuminate to caudate. Flowers axillary, solitary. Pedicel 4-5 mm, densely villous; bracteoles 4 or 5, outside white villous, inside glabrous, apex long acuminate; basal 2 bracteoles ovate, ca. 1.5 cm; apical 2 or 3 bracteoles lanceolate, 5-6 mm. Sepals 5, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 8-10 mm, outside densely white villous, inside glabrous, apex long acuminate. Petals 5 or 6, white, obovate to obovate-elliptic, 1.5-2 × 0.8-1.6 cm, outside farinose-puberulent, basally connate for 2-4 mm. Stamens ca. 1.5 cm; outer filament whorl basally connate for ca. 1 cm, distinct part white villous. Ovary white tomentose, 3-loculed; style ca. 1.5 cm, densely pubescent, apically 3-parted for 1-2 mm. Capsule globose, 1.5-2.5 cm in diam., l-loculed with l seed, apex shortly conic; pericarp ca. 1 mm thick. Seed brown, subglobose. Fl. Nov, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 30*.

● Forests, thickets; 300-800(-1400) m. Fujian, Guangdong, E Guangxi, S Jiangxi, Taiwan.