CAMELLIA JAPONICA POMPONIA.
Pompone Camellia.
Camellia J a p ó n ica Pom p o n ia . B o t. R e g is te r , t .2 2 . L o d d ig e s ’s B o t. C a b in e t, t.5 9 6 .
%e, o r K ew B lu sh Camellia. C u r tis ’s M o n o g ra p h , p i. 3.
TH E habit and general character of this variety so much resembles
th a t of the Peeony-flowered, and Various-flowered, as to render it impossible,
when they are not in blossom, to distinguish them from one
another. B y many it has been considered a doubtful variety; b u t after
having observed it, for several years, invariably produce the same sort
of flowers, we are decidedly of opinion tha t, in this respect, it is as
permanent and distinct a variety as any in cultivation. I t is very
probable th a t it was first obtained from a sport of the Various-
flowered, which we have occasionally seen with perfect flowers of the
Pompone, and the red, white, and blush varieties of the Peeony-flowered,
upon the same plant. In growth it is more slender and erect than
almost an y of the other sorts; the shoots are also of a paler colour, and
b u t th in ly clothed with foliage. I t is believed to have been first imported
for the Royal Garden a t Kew, about the year 1810, and is
generally known b y the name of the Pompone, or Kew Blush Camellia.
The leaves, although comparatively narrow, are of an oval form,
much recurved and pointed. They may be said to be usually about three
and a h a lf inches long, and rather more than an inch and a h alf broad,
b u t seldom exceed this size; their edges are slightly revolute, and very
sharply serrated. The midrib and veins are conspicuous on the upper
side, from being paler than the uniform colour of the leaves, which
is always a rich, shining, deep green. The footstalks are upwards of
half an inch long, nearly round, or b u t a very little flattened on the
upper side, an d of the same colour as the veins and midrib.
The flower buds are a t first a good deal pointed, b u t afterwards
they become b lu n t and round. The scales are th in and roundish, ot a
dull silvery green colour, slightly covered with pubescence.
The flowers are very delicate and showy, measuring, when fully
expanded, from three and a h alf to four inches in diameter. They
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