The WALA Plant Library
Tea

Synonyms for Tea: None known
Scientific Name: Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze
Family: Theaceae (Tea Family)

Description:

The tea leaves that we use for our morning tea, in the form of either tea bags or loose tea, are the young shoots and leaves of the tea plant – in its natural state a small evergreen tree which can reach a height of 15 metres. In the tea plantations the plants are pruned down to shrubs of less than 2 metres to allow the pickers to harvest the leaves more easily. The dark green, shiny oblong leaves are so densely packed that, from a distance, tea plantations look as though they are a sea of dense green cushions. The very fragrant white flowers, which can measure up to three centimetres across, contain a large number of yellow stamens. The resemblance to its relative the cultivated Camellia japonica, often referred to simply as camellia, cannot be overlooked. The tea plant likes a mild, rainy climate and thrives best in tropical and subtropical regions.