Camellia wardii Kobuski

Shrubs or trees, 2-6 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets purplish brown, glabrous or pubescent. Petiole yellowish, ca. 1 cm, glabrous or villous; leaf blade oblong-elliptic to oblong, 6-12 × 2-4.5 cm, papery to thinly leathery, abaxially pale green, red glandular punctate, and glabrous or villous along midvein, adaxially dark green and glabrous, midvein and secondary veins yellowish and visible or slightly raised on both surfaces, base broadly cuneate, margin sharply pointed serrulate, apex caudate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary, 3.5-4.5 cm in diam., subsessile. Bracteoles and sepals 9 or 10; outer 4 or 5 bracteoles and sepals caducous after anthesis, bracteolate, semiorbicular to broadly ovate, 1.5-5 mm; inner 5 bracteoles and sepals ± persistent, orbicular, 1-1.2 cm in diam., subleathery, both surfaces puberulent, margin broadly scarious. Petals 6-8, white, obovate-elliptic to broadly elliptic, 2-2.5 × 1.3-1.7 cm, basally connate for 2-3 mm, apex rounded to emarginate. Stamens ca. 1.3 cm; filaments glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate for 4-5 mm. Ovary densely tomentose, 3-loculed; styles 3, distinct, 6-8 mm, glabrous or basal 1/2 pubescent. Capsule globose to subglobose, 3-4 × 3.5-4.5 cm, 3-loculed with 2 seeds per locule; pericarp 5-7 mm thick, surface brown glandular punctate, splitting into 3 valves; columella persistent. Seeds brown, semiglobose, 1-1.5 cm in diam. Fl. Nov-Dec, fr. Sep. 2n = 30.

SW and W Yunnan [N Myanmar].

Forests, thickets; 400-2600 m.