THEA chinensis pimentæ jamaicensis folio, flore roseo. _Pet. Gaz. t.
33. fig. 4._

[Illustration: 42]

This most beautiful tree, though long since figured and described, as
may be seen by the above synonyms, was a stranger to our gardens in the
time of MILLER, or at least it is not noticed in the last
edition of his Dictionary.

It is a native both of China and Japan.

THUNBERG, in his _Flora Japonica_, describes it as growing
every where in the groves and gardens of Japan, where it becomes a
prodigiously large and tall tree, highly esteemed by the natives for the
elegance of its large and very variable blossoms, and its evergreen
leaves; it is there found with single and double flowers, which also are
white, red, and purple, and produced from April to October.

Representations of this flower are frequently met with in Chinese
paintings.

With us, the _Camellia_ is generally treated as a stove plant, and
propagated by layers; it is sometimes placed in the green-house; but it
appears to us to be one of the properest plants imaginable for the
conservatory. At some future time it may, perhaps, not be uncommon to
treat it as a _Laurustinus_ or _Magnolia_: the high price at which it
has hitherto been sold, may have prevented its being hazarded in this
way.