Reticulata camellias - American Camellia Society
Reticulata camellias - American Camellia Society
Reticulata camellias - American Camellia Society
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<strong>Reticulata</strong> <strong>camellias</strong>:<br />
There is more than meets the eye!<br />
Article and Photos....<br />
by Bradford King<br />
The <strong>Camellia</strong> reticulata have been cultivated in China<br />
for more than a thousand years, where they grow<br />
mainly in the west and southeast section of Yunnan<br />
Province. Yunnan is located in the southwestern region<br />
of China where mountains, rivers and abundant rainfall occur.<br />
<strong>Camellia</strong>s are preserved at large temples and monasteries in<br />
the area, with some trees having bloomed for a hundred years and<br />
still at it. The center of camellia culture is Kunming. The Kunming<br />
Botanical Institute has done extensive investigation on the indigenous<br />
reticulata. They have identified fourteen ancient cultivars.<br />
One of the most common is ‘Shizitou’ which we call ‘Lion Head’.<br />
They found two 23-foot tall trees estimated to be six hundred years<br />
old. The eye can’t tell us but <strong>Camellia</strong> reticulata species and individual<br />
specimens are very long lived woody plants. (Figure 1:<br />
Lion Head.)<br />
Figure 1: ‘Lion Head’<br />
tain Rawes’.) It is believed to have been collected by John Reeves<br />
the Chief Inspector of Tea for the East India Company in Canton.<br />
Captain Richard Rawes brought it to England. The Yunnan reticulata<br />
came to America through Descanso Gardens and Ralph Peer<br />
in 1948. Australia also imported the reticulata in 1948 and 1949.<br />
DISTRIBUTION<br />
The first record of C. reticulata being introduced to another<br />
country was in1673 to Japan. The cultivar was called ‘To-Tsubaki’,<br />
which means Tang Dynasty <strong>Camellia</strong>. This is the same camellia introduced<br />
to England as ‘Captain Rawes’ in 1820. (Figure2: ‘Cap-<br />
Figure 2: ‘Captain Rawes’<br />
8 The <strong>Camellia</strong> Journal
New Zealand received them from America and Australia before<br />
directly importing them from China in 1964. In more recent times<br />
they have become a Chinese export to Burma, Indonesia, Laos,<br />
Vietnam, Albania, Thailand, and parts of the old Soviet Union.<br />
China’s trade with other countries is no longer as restricted as the<br />
country has become the number two world economy. We can only<br />
hope the Chinese will export other camellia species more readily.<br />
My eyes wait for C. chuangtsoensis, the bright yellow repeat<br />
blooming flower. (Figure 3: ‘C. chuangtsoensis’.)<br />
SINGLE FLOWERS<br />
In China there are now at least 120 reticulata cultivars, with new<br />
seedlings being produced regularly that we know very little about.<br />
In the West approximately 800 cultivars have been introduced with<br />
reticulata in their lineage. While the large and very large flowers<br />
are the most sought after, there are smaller cultivars being bred. In<br />
America the show flowers seem to drive the popularity of reticulata<br />
hybrids but this is not the case in China. The Chinese have<br />
introduced single flowers in two forms — trumpet and magnolia.<br />
The former has short flat petals and looks like a trumpet when<br />
fully open; the latter has straight rather long petals, and when fully<br />
open, looks like a magnolia flower. For example, a single trumpet<br />
form named ’Biyu’ has light pink flower with flushes of red on the<br />
petal edges. In America we have ‘Kogane-yuri’, a light yellow,<br />
small, single tubular flower that originated in Japan. It’s valued<br />
because it has many pale yellow flowers that bloom up and down<br />
its stems and branches. (Figure 4: ‘Kogane-yuri’.) In addition,<br />
‘Crimson Candles’ would probably be classified as tubular. It has<br />
a rose red, single, medium bloom which grows vigorously. It has<br />
great value as a cold hardy (Zone 7A) landscape camellia. An example<br />
of the magnolia form from China is ‘Qiaoyulan’ which is<br />
spinel pink. I am unaware of reticulata flowers in America with a<br />
magnolia form.<br />
Figure 3: ‘C. chuangtsoensis’ - Photo by Gao Jiyin<br />
SEMIDOUBLE FLOWERS<br />
The Chinese discuss three semidouble flower forms: lotus, wavy,<br />
and butterfly. These are very helpful ways of describing semidouble<br />
reticulata flowers. It gives additional characteristics that can<br />
help identify and distinguish among flowers with this common reticulata<br />
form.<br />
The lotus type has flat, regularly arranged petals with flowers<br />
that look, when fully open, like the East Indian Lotus. One lotus<br />
type from China is called ‘Luanyeyinhong’ and is known in the<br />
United States as ‘Ovate Leaf Pink’. Many of our reticulata hybrids<br />
fit here: ‘Queen Bee’, ‘Hulyn Smith’, ‘Margaret Hilford’, ‘LASCA<br />
Beauty’ and ‘Valley Knudsen’. (Figure 5: ‘LASCA Beauty’.)<br />
The wavy type has undulating petals. A wavy form semidouble<br />
in China is called ‘Zuijiaohong’, which, in English, is “Intoxi-<br />
Figure 4: ‘Kogane-yuri’<br />
March - May 2012 9
Figure 7: ‘Fiesta Grande’.<br />
cating Charming Red”. There are many Chinese and<br />
<strong>American</strong> cultivars with this form. Popular ones developed<br />
in America are ’Buddha’,’ California Sunset’<br />
‘Francie L’, ‘Fire Chief’, ‘Curtain Call’, and ‘Nuccio’s<br />
Ruby’. (Figure 6: ‘Curtain Call’.)<br />
The butterfly type has outer petals that are larger and<br />
flat with inner ones twisted and upright. In America this<br />
may be described as “rabbit-eared”. A butterfly wing<br />
type from China is ‘Datahong’; in America it is known<br />
as ‘Crimson Robe’. This form makes for very attractive<br />
hybrids. Popular reticulata hybrids in America are<br />
‘Arch of Triumph’, ‘Frank Houser’, ‘Fiesta Grande’,<br />
‘Emma Gaeta’, and ‘Howard Asper’. (Figure 7: ‘Fiesta<br />
Grande’ and Figure 8: ‘Frank Houser’.)<br />
DOUBLE FLOWERS<br />
The third Chinese category is “flowers fully double”,<br />
which has three types: rose, radiate, and peony. This<br />
seems less helpful than our categories: anemone, loose<br />
peony, peony, rose form double, and formal double<br />
form, which provides more in-depth description of<br />
the flower forms. The radiate group has few cultivars<br />
listed. The petals are flat, overlapping, irregular, and a<br />
radiating arrangement with inconspicuous stamens and<br />
pistils. We can find this form in a few formal double<br />
japonica and hybrid flowers, for example, ‘Punkin’.<br />
(Figure 9: C. hybrid ‘Punkin’.)<br />
There is more than meets the eye when categorizing<br />
reticulata flowers because some cultivars will produce<br />
two or three and even four flower forms. ‘Dr. Clifford<br />
Parks’ is a great reticulata with its rich red complicated<br />
flower that are at times anemone, loose peony, peony,<br />
and semidouble butterfly-wing type. (Figure 10: ‘Dr.<br />
Clifford Parks’, a loose peony form.) Likewise, ‘John<br />
Hunt’ can be semidouble butterfly-type or loose peony.<br />
It has a beautiful and very large pink flower. (Figure 11:<br />
‘John Hunt’, a semidouble butterfly-type.)<br />
FORMAL DOUBLE<br />
The best example of a formal double reticulata with a<br />
rose bud center is the beautiful and popular ‘Valentine<br />
Day’. (Figure 12: ‘Valentine Day’.) ‘Harold L. Page’ is<br />
a very large rose form double with a terrific bright red<br />
flower that comes late in the season, which may mean<br />
it arrives too late for camellia shows unless it is gibbed.<br />
(Figure 13: ‘Harold L. Page’.) ‘Miss Tulare’ is another<br />
wonderful very large red flower which is usually a<br />
rose form double but may also grow as a ruffled peony.<br />
(Figure 14: ‘Miss Tulare’, as a rose form double.) A<br />
multi-toned pink flower that is a rose form double is<br />
the lovely and very large ‘Phyllis Hunt’. (Figure 15:<br />
‘Phyllis Hunt’.) One of the most beautiful loose peony<br />
reticulata flowers is ‘Ruta Hagmann’. (Figure 16: ‘Ruta<br />
Hagmann’.) The light pink has deeper tones of coral<br />
pink on the petal edges. There don’t seem to be many<br />
full peony reticulata. However, one very large soft orchid<br />
pink is ‘Jean Pursel’. The Chinese cluster loose<br />
and full peony together. The most popular in the USA is<br />
‘Damano’ (‘Cornelian’) which has a large, variegated<br />
rose red flower. (Figure 17: ‘Cornelian’.)<br />
10 The <strong>Camellia</strong> Journal
Figure 5: ‘LASCA Beauty’ Figure 6: ‘Curtain Call’<br />
Figure 8: ‘Frank Houser’ Figure 9: ‘Punkin’<br />
Figure 10: ‘Dr. Clifford Parks’ Figure 11: ‘John Hunt’<br />
March - May 2012 11
Figure 12: ‘Valentine Day’<br />
SUMMARY<br />
The common saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” applies<br />
to the camellia reticulata species. There is so much more than<br />
meets the eye. It took historical investigation to discover that some<br />
trees are hundreds of years old and that C. reticulata is a very old<br />
species with records going back over a thousand years in China.<br />
The eyes certainly are key to the enjoyment of the magnificent<br />
reticulata flowers, but no one pair of eyes can see the diversity<br />
of even one cultivar. We may think that the flower form we see<br />
in our home garden is the way this cultivar always looks. Various<br />
micro climates interacting with the flower’s unseen genetics can<br />
create different flower forms on the same cultivar. A rich iron soil<br />
may produce a darker red flower than one with depleted soil. We<br />
all know that lack of moisture and hot weather impacts the flower<br />
size. We can extend our vision and knowledge about <strong>camellias</strong> at<br />
shows, but again our eyes only can see what is presented. There<br />
are hundreds of beautiful reticulata that are not show varieties. It<br />
is rare for a small or even a medium reticulata to get to the head<br />
table. There are yellow, cold hardy, and other great <strong>camellias</strong> that<br />
make good landscape plants that you may not see. Finally there are<br />
reticulata hybrids in China that few Western eyes have seen.<br />
Figure 15: ‘Phyllis Hunt’<br />
Figure 16: ‘Ruta Hagmann’<br />
Figure 13: ‘Harold Page’<br />
Figure 14: ‘Miss Tulare’<br />
Figure 17: ‘Cornelian’<br />
12 The <strong>Camellia</strong> Journal
Ma rd _ Ma} 2012<br />
Figure 5: 'LASCA Beauty'<br />
Figure 10: 'Dr, Clifford Pam.'<br />
Figure 6: 'Curtain Call'<br />
Figure 11: 'Jolm Hunt'