Column "Camellia" part 9

～How to enjoy camellias～

How to enjoy camellias

1 Enjoying the colors
　The ordinary color of the flowers of wild japonicas is red. But there are many species and cultivars that bloom in various colors, such as pink or white. 　There is a yellow flowered species that originated in South-east Asia. There are even cultivars whose flowers look even purple or black. Patches or stripes of various colors sometimes appear on the camellia petals.

2 Enjoying the flower forms
　Camellia japonicas, from which most cultivars have been made, have a single-petaled flower with 5 or 6 petals. Numerous cultivars have been made by selection or cross-blending for hundreds of years. As a result, some flowers have added petals, and other flowers have mutated to have petals instead of stamens.

3 Enjoying the stamens
　Camellia flowers have an anther and a thread part connected to that anther at the center of the flower. These are called stamen. It is important to pay attention to stamen when viewing camellia flowers. The stamen is white in many camellias, but some cultivars have cream-colored stamens, and others have scarlet ones. The bunches of stamen are also varied ― from straight narrow bunches to bunches scattered like fireworks. Please enjoy finding your favorite type.

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