14.
CAMELLIA JAPONICA MYRTIFOLIA.
M y r tle -leav ed Camellia.
Camellia Japónica M y r tifo lia . B o t. M a g a z in e , 1 .1670. L o d d ig e s ’s B o t. C ab in e t,
t . 354. T r a n s a c tio n s o f H o r t . Soc .Vol. 7.
M y rtle -lea v ed Camellia. C u r tis ’s M o n o g ra p h , p i. 5.
FROM a paper which we had the honour to communicate to the Horticultural
Society, and which is printed in the seventh volume of their
Transactions, we extract th e following account of the variety so faithfully
represented in the annexed engraving.
This sort is of a peculiar habit, and much less robust in its growth
than almost any of the other Camellias. In certain soils, and under
different kinds of treatment, it is liable to vary a good deal, both in its
flowers and foliage, which has given occasion to suppose there were two
varieties of it in cultivation, namely, the Large Myrtle-leaved, and
Small Myrtle-leaved. The latter name, however, is only applicable to
it when the plants are in a young state. They then have weak shoots,
with leaves not much larger than those of the common Myrtle, but
afterwards they lose this character, become more vigorous, and the
supposed two varieties cannot be distinguished from one another. It
seems to be rather tender, and succeeds best when the plants are kept
wann, and forwarded in their growth in the spring.
The branches are numerous and spreading, with convex, ovate-
acuminate, sharply serrated, dark shining green leaves, generally about
two and a half inches long, and rather more than an inch broad, much
twisted and recurved, with a strong, prominent pale-coloured midrib.
The footstalks are scarcely half an inch long, nearly round, and of a
brownish green on the exposed side.
Flower buds roundish oval, somewhat pointed,with large, roundish,
pointed, pale green, slightly pubescent scales: the latter, a t the time the
buds begin to swell, are of a dull and rather dark green colour.
The flowers are very freely produced, aud are large in proportion
to the size of the plant, few of them being less than three inclies in
diameter. They are particularly handsome, and similar in their forma