Stats

Lifespan: 100-200 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: East Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

The Japanese camellia is a flowering shrub native to eastern Asia, prized for its large, rose-like blooms that appear in winter and early spring when few other plants flower. It is an ancestor of the tea plant and has been cultivated for over a millennium, with more than 30,000 named cultivars.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Camellia
Species: Camellia japonica