Reinstatement of the independent specific status of Camellia angustifolia, a tea plant (Camellia sect. Thea, Theaceae) from Guangxi, China

Huiqun Deng; Xianjun Liao; Xiangqin Yu; Zhusheng Liu; Shixiong Yang

doi:10.3897/phytokeys.267.174664

Reinstatement of the independent specific status of Camellia angustifolia, a tea plant (Camellia sect. Thea, Theaceae) from Guangxi, China

PhytoKeys. 2025 Nov 28:267:1-8. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.267.174664. eCollection 2025.

Authors

Huiqun Deng^{1

2

3}, Xianjun Liao^{1

2

3}, Xiangqin Yu⁴, Zhusheng Liu^{1

2

3}, Shixiong Yang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Guangxi Research Institute of Tea Science, Guilin 541004 Guangxi, China Guangxi Research Institute of Tea Science Guilin China.
² Guilin Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Crop Germplasm Resources, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guilin 541004 Guangxi, China Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Guilin China.
³ Guangxi Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Tea Resources, Guilin 541004 Guangxi, China Guangxi Field Scientific Observation and Research Station for Tea Resources Guilin China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, China Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences Kunming China.

Abstract

Camellia angustifolia Hung T. Chang was published in 1981 and was treated as a synonym of C. sinensis var. pubilimba in 1992. Field investigation and herbarium research have revealed remarkable morphological differences between C. angustifolia and C. sinensis var. pubilimba. Evidence from morphology-particularly the variations in indumentum on young branches, leaves, and flowers, the size of the sepals, and the thickness of the pericarp-suggests that C. angustifolia should not be reduced to C. sinensis var. pubilimba. We hereby reinstate the independent specific status of C. angustifolia. A detailed description, including the flower morphology of C. angustifolia, is provided. In addition, the incorrect information regarding the type specimen in the protologue of C. angustifolia has been rectified.

Keywords: Theaceae; Camellia sinensis var. pubilimba; morphology; taxonomic treatment.

Huiqun Deng, Xianjun Liao, Xiangqin Yu, Zhusheng Liu, Shixiong Yang.