It is absent from Hokkaido (as a native), but is found in virtually all the islands of Japan right down to Okinawa and beyond to Taiwan, as well as parts of mainland China and South Korea. Tsubaki is a common denizen of the evergreen broad leaf forests of southern Japan and northward even into the warmer coastal reaches of northern Honshu’s Tohoku region. The flower of the common wild type of Camellia japonica is much simpler than most cultivated forms, but lovely and elegant. Due to the relative lack of insects in winter, the flowers are often pollinated by small birds, in particular the Japanese white-eye, Zosterops japonica. This cold weather flowering habit has earned it one common name, rose of winter. Flowering is later further north, and can last into mid spring, however, it is not uncommon to see this tree in flower when snow is still falling. At higher elevations flowers can persist even into mid May. They open in three sections (called locules), each containing anywhere from 1-2 large brown seeds.įlowering season in southern Japan starts in winter, usually not before January, peaks around March, and trails off in late April. The fruits are nearly perfectly round before opening, starting out apple green and maturing into a purple-red. Wild flowering types commonly boast only a handful of broad petals and the blossoms tend to remain rather cupped compared to many of the cultivated varieties. The prominent cluster of stamens are a yellow orange color while the three lobed pistal is “lost’ in them. They are joined at their bases such that when the flower falls off, it is intact (we’ll see why that is important later).
The flower petals of wild plants are typically deep red, though pure white forms have been reported. Flower buds are formed in the fall and over winter until opening in late winter or early spring. The soft, new leaves are most actively in growth after flowering in the spring. The dorsal surface is also very glossy, adding to the visual appeal of this plant. They usually are a deep green color on their dorsal surface and a bit lighter underneath.
The wide, slightly serrated ovate leaves are borne in an alternating pattern and typically measure between 5-10 centimeters long and 3-6 centimeters wide, ending in a pointed tip. The bark is an even gray color and very smooth. I’ve seen many in the 10-12 meter range with trunk diameters approaching 60 centimeters in really large trees. The tallest on record is 18 meters (that’s almost 60 feet!). Homanzan, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan.Ĭamellia japonica in nature is an evergreen subcanopy tree, commonly 3 to 6 meters tall, with occasional specimens being quite a bit higher than that. Camellia japonica is most commonly seen as a sub canopy tree, but occasionally specimens grow in open, sunny habitats such as this ridge line forest.
#Ochitsubaki skin#
In recent times it has been widely cultivated as a garden plant, but in the not so distant past the oil derived from its bulbous fruits was used as a multipurpose product, serving as a food, a hair and skin treatment, as well as a machine oil. Known as tsubaki in Japanese, this plant is a common small tree throughout the warmer regions of the Japanese archipelago. A member of the tea family, Theaceae, Camellia japonica is one of Japan’s most famous flowering trees.