Camellia cordifolia (Metcalf) Nakai

Shrubs or trees, 1-8 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; year-old branchlets with indumentum ± persistent; current year branches densely pale yellow to brown spreading villous
and pubescent. Petiole 2-5 cm, villous; leaf blade oblong-lanceolate to oblong-ovate, 4-10 × 1.5-3.5 cm, thinly leathery, abaxially pale green, sparsely villous especially along midvein, and becoming pale brown to reddish brown when dry, adaxially dark green, shiny, and hirtellous along midvein, midvein raised on both surfaces, secondary veins 6-8 on each side of midvein and slightly raised to obscure on both surfaces, base shallowly cordate to subtruncate, margin serrulate, apex acuminate to caudate. Flowers axillary, solitary. Pedicel 2-3 mm; bracteoles 4 or 5, covering pedicel, semiorbicular to broadly ovate, 0.3-3 mm, outside appressed pubescent except margin or glabrous, inside glabrous. Sepals 5, ovate to suborbicular, (2-)4-5 mm, outside appressed pubescent except margin or glabrous, inside glabrous, margin ciliolate. Petals 5-7, white, obovate to broadly obovate, 1-2 × 0.6-1.2 cm, outside farinose-puberulent or glabrous, basally connate for 3-5 mm, apex rounded to emarginate. Stamens 1-1.7 cm; outer filament whorl basally connate for 1-1.4 cm, distinct part densely white villous. Ovary white tomentose, 3-loculed; style 1.3-1.9 cm, densely white villous, apically 3-parted for ca. 2 mm and glabrous. Capsule subglobose, 1-1.5 cm in diam., 1(or 2)-loculed with 1 seed per locule; pericarp thinly leathery, pubescent. Seed brown, globose, 8-10 mm in diam. Fl. Nov-Jan, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 30*.

SW Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, S and SW Hunan, S Jiangxi, SE Yunnan.

● Forests, thickets; (200-)300-1700(-2000) m.