Quarryhill Botanical Garden

Advancing the Conservation, Study, and Cultivation of the Flora of Asia

EVENTS

 

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For more information and a complete listing of our events, visit our event calendar

Featured Plant

Camellia pitardii

(QBG #1996.184)

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Collected as wild origin seed by Bill McNamara on October 7, 1996 at 1,235 meters elevation from an evergreen shrub to 1.5 meters tall, spreading to 1 meter, in the open and solitary, on thin, shale- loam, in secondary regeneration following past cut over, Daoceng County, Guizhou province, China.  Coordinates: N 29 5 48,  E 107 22 39.

These evergreen shrubs or trees reach a height of 3-9 meters or more in the wild, with purplish-brown new branchlets graying with age.  Leaves are elliptic to oblong/oblanceolate, usually 6-10 cm x 2.5-3.5 cm in size, leathery and very glabrous, dark green adaxially and pale green abaxially with a serrulate margin.  Flowers appear December to March and are subterminal and solitary, 5-6 (rarely up to 10) cm in diameter with 5-6 petals in colors ranging from white to deep rose-red.  Brown, glabrous seeds follow between August and October, in fruits with 3 valves, globose or semiglobose in shape and 1-1.5 cm in diameter.

This camellia is endemic to south-central provinces of China, between 500 and 2,700 meters elevation in forests and thickets.  R. pitardii is less well-known in the nursery trade than its close cousin, R. reticulata, yet with its smaller leaves and blossoms the former has been of great use in the development of hybrids.

Camellia culture generally includes some protection from the sun, and regular water, particularly when young.

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Founded in 1987, Quarryhill is one of the pre-eminent Asian botanical gardens globally, featuring one of the largest collections of documented, wild-collected Asian plants in the world. Quarryhill's key programs include:

The garden welcomes visitors, and is open for both self-guided and docent-led tours year-round, as well as group and organization tours and events. To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are open free of charge for self-guided tours on the 25th of each month in 2012.  Docent or staff-led tours require advance reservation, see our Visitors page for more information, call 707-996-3166, or email info@quarryhillbg.org.