The Complete Guide to Camellia Flower Meanings and Symbolism, All on World Flower Language Encyclopedia
Camellias bloom at the turn of winter and spring, with full, dignified and elegant flowers. They are one of China's traditional top ten famous flowers and one of the world's famous flowers. Guo Moruo praised them warmly: “A camellia tree blooms early with peach-red flowers, a hundred crimson clouds proudly standing in the midst.” The camellia possesses both the proud plum-like character of “only the camellia endures so long, alone able to occupy the spring breeze through the deep moon,” and the peony-surpassing brilliance of “flowers abundant and brilliantly red, deeply surpassing the morning glow.” Therefore, since ancient times it has been an extremely famous woody flowering plant, reaching its peak during the Tang and Song dynasties. After being introduced to Europe in the 17th century, it also caused a sensation, and thus earned the beautiful title of “world-famous flower.”
The flower language of the camellia is: ideal love, modesty. It is said that camellias always bloom quietly in courtyards when the late autumn weather turns slightly cool. When a camellia fades, the entire flower does not fall off; instead, the petals slowly wither one by one until life ends. This careful, reluctant way of fading is just like people's attitude in pursuing an ideal partner, so gradually the camellia became a spokesperson for expressing feelings to a woman one admires. In winter, when almost all flowers have withered, the red camellia seems especially warm and full of vitality. Moreover, planted in a garden, it also lets people enjoy her faint fragrance. Therefore, the camellia makes people feel cuteness, modesty, ideal love, caution, and remarkable charm.
Camellia, also known as shancha, is a plant of the family Theaceae and genus Camellia, anciently called sea pomegranate.
There are extremely many varieties of camellia. It is a traditional ornamental flower of China, ranking eighth among the “top ten famous flowers,” and is also one of the world's precious flowering trees. It is the provincial flower of Yunnan Province, the city flower of Chongqing, Ningbo in Zhejiang, and other cities, and the prefectural flower of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province.
White camellia: innocence and purity, loveliness, perfect charm, true affection, ideal love, elegance.
Red camellia: natural beauty, the virtue of humility, modesty, noble rationality.
Pink-white camellia: extravagance, fashion.
Pink camellia: overcoming difficulties.
Characteristics of the camellia:
The camellia is a shrub or small tree. Its leaves are leathery, elliptical, 5-10 cm long and 2.5-5 cm wide, with a slightly pointed tip, or abruptly short-pointed with a blunt tip, and a broad cuneate base. The petiole is 8-15 mm long and hairless.
The stamens are in 3 whorls, about 2.5-3 cm long. The filaments of the outer whorl are connate at the base, and the filament tube is 1.5 cm long and hairless; the stamens of the inner whorl are free and slightly shorter. The ovary is hairless, and the style is 2.5 cm long.
Cultivated camellia varieties have a longer flowering period, generally beginning to bloom in October and ending in May of the following year, with the peak blooming period from January to March.
The flower colors are gorgeous and colorful, the flower shapes are beautiful and varied, the flower postures are elegant and diverse, and the fragrance is striking. There are many varieties, and most flowers are red or pale red, with some white, and most are double-flowered.