大苞白山茶 da bao bai shan cha

Camellia albogigas Hu.

Shrubs or trees, 3-9 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets brown, pubescent. Petiole 5-10 mm, pubescent; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, obovate-elliptic, or oblong, 7-11.5 × 3-4.5 cm, leathery and adaxially rugose, abaxially pale green, brown glandular punctate, and spreading villous along midvein and secondary veins, adaxially dark green, shiny, and glabrous, midvein and secondary veins abaxially elevated and adaxially deeply impressed, reticulate veins abaxially raised and adaxially deeply impressed, base rounded to obtuse, margin serrulate, apex bluntly acuminate to caudate-acuminate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, 10-14 cm in diam., subsessile. Bracteoles and sepals 12-17, ± persistent, crustaceous, outside gray tomentose, inside velutinous, margin membranous; outer bracteoles and sepals semiorbicular, 4-8 × 8-14 mm; inner bracteoles and sepals suborbicular, 3.5-4 × 4-4.5 cm. Petals 8-10, white, broadly obovate, 4.5-7 × 3.8-5 cm, apex emarginate; inner 5 petals basally connate for 5-6 mm. Stamens numerous, 2.5-3 cm, glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for 5-6 mm. Gynoecium 2.5-3 cm, densely white tomentose to apex of styles. Ovary globose, 4-5 mm in diam., 5-loculed; styles 5, distinct but basally connivent, apically dividing into 5 recurved arms. Capsule subglobose, ca. 6 cm in diam., surrounded by persistent sepals, 5 valves dehiscent; pericarp 7-10 mm thick, furfuraceous. Seeds dark brown, semiglobose, ca. 1.3 × 1.3 cm. Fl. Dec-Jan, fr. Aug-Sep. 2n = 60*.

● Forests; 100-300 m. E Guangdong.