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Camellia saluenensis
Last Updated: 04/04/2010
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Camellia Saluenensis and hybrids
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In every issue of The Camellia Digest, we examine the diversity of camellias by taking a closer look at a specific camellia species. This issue of ‘In Search of Species’ brings us to one of the more recognizable camellia species. It is Camellia saluenensis, and it has provided us with many interesting hybrids for a number of years. The name of this species was derived from one of Southeast Asia’s great rivers known as the Salween River. Camellia saluenensis is native to Yunnan Province in China.
Much interest in this species began in the western world when seeds from Camellia saluenensis were collected in China by George Forrest in the early nineteen hundreds.
Forrest brought these seed back to England where they were distributed to several sponsors of his plant exploration journey. The most notable of Forrest’s sponsors was the Williams family of Caerhays Castle in Cornwall. These seed were germinated and grown by the Williams family. It was noticed that the flowers of the Camellia saluenensis seedlings bloomed at an earlier age from seed than the more common seed from Camellia japonica. Also, it was observed that these new seedlings seemed to vary in floral colors from pale pinks to deeper pinks. Because these seedlings bloomed at an early stage and set seed reasonably, efforts began to hybridize Camellia saluenensis with Camellia japonica. As many of the resultant seedling began to bloom and be evaluated, it was noticed that the seedling were much hardier that the original Camellia saluenensis seedlings due to the Camellia japonica parentage, and that they were much more florid due to the Camellia saluenensis parentage. Many of these hybrid seedlings became widely distributed and became known as the williamsii hybrids.
The impact of hybrids resulting from Camellia saluenensis has been enormous in many parts of the world were camellias have been used in the landscape. In New Zealand and Australia, much usage has been done Camellia saluenensis hybrids in the gardens because of their florid blooming habit. Also, a significant amount of new Camellia saluenensis hybrids have been developed in this area of the world because of the landscape value provided by this species. In many of the flowers from hybrids of Camellia saluenensis, a noticeable lavender-pink hue is present. Many gardeners will notice something different about the floral color of these hybrids, even if they are not familiar with camellias. Camellia saluenensis is another one of the many diverse species of camellias that provides us with significant landscape possibilities.
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