The Tea Plants: Botanical Aspects

Abstract

Tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) belongs to the genus Camellia. The genus has over 200 species many of which interbreed relatively freely resulting in many natural hybrids. Species introgression into the cultivated germplasm of tea from related Camellia species has therefore been postulated and it is thought that archetypal tea varieties do not exist. Tea cultivars are routinely characterized and classified on the basis of their morphophysiological traits, cytology, leaf biochemical traits and molecular tools. Leaf biochemicals and molecular tools have provided proof of a possible monophyletic origin of all Camellia species. Though the tea plant is the only commercially viable species, the potential for economic use of other species as a beverage is, however, real, and several including C. taliensis, C. grandibractiata, C. kwangsiensis, C. gymnogyna, C. crassicolumna, C. tachangensis, C. ptilophylla and C. irrawadiensis are already used in parts of Asia.