Camellia petelotii (Merr.) Sealy

Shrubs or trees, (1.5-)2-5 m tall. Young branches grayish brown; current year branchlets purplish brown, 2-3 mm thick, glabrous. Petiole 1-2 cm, glabrous; leaf blade elliptic, oblong-elliptic, or oblong, 9-18(-23) × 3-6(-7.5) cm, leathery, abaxially pale green, brown glandular punctate, and becoming pale brown when dry, adaxially dark green and shiny, both surfaces glabrous, midvein abaxially elevated and adaxially flat or slightly impressed, secondary veins 8-10 on each side of midvein, abaxially elevated, and adaxially impressed, base broadly cuneate to subrounded, margin serrulate, apex shortly caudate. Flowers axillary or subterminal, solitary or paired, (2-)5-6 cm in diam. Pedicel (5-)10-15 mm, erect, apically thickened; bracteoles (6-)8-10, spreading, not covering pedicel, lunate to broadly ovate, 2-3 × 3-5 mm, leathery, glabrous, margin ciliolate. Sepals 5, ovate to broadly ovate, (4-)6-8 × 6-9 mm, leathery, glabrous or inside white puberulent, margin ciliolate. Petals 10-14, golden yellow, fleshy; outer 4 or 5 petals broadly elliptic to suborbicular, 1.5-2 × 1-1.5 cm, margin ciliolate; inner petals elliptic to oblong-elliptic, 2-3.5 × 1.4-1.8 cm, basally connate for 6-8 mm. Stamens numerous, 2-2.5 cm, glabrous; outer filament whorl basally connate into a 7-10 mm tube. Ovary globose, ca. 2.5 mm in diam., glabrous, 3-loculed; styles 3, distinct, 1.5-2 cm. Capsule oblate, (1.2-)2.5-3.5 × (1.5-)4-6 cm, (2 or)3-loculed with 3 seeds per locule, apex sunken; pericarp 3-5 mm thick when dry, woody. Seeds brown, hemispherical, 1.5-2 cm in diam., sparsely yellowish brown pilose. Fl. Nov-Feb, fr. Sep-Nov. 2n = 30.

S Guangxi [N Vietnam].

Forests in river valleys or along streams; 100-900 m.

Camellia petelotii is a species of plant in the family Theaceae. It is found in China (endemic in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China) and Vietnam. It may be called the golden camellia and synonyms include C. chrysantha and Camellia nitidissima. The golden camellia originated 170 million years ago, it is a first-class nationally protected plant in China. The golden camellia is extremely demanding on the growth environment, and its genes are extremely difficult to replicate, once transplanted, it will die or genetically mutate. Therefore, in 1986, the Golden Camellia National Nature Reserve was built in Fangcheng, Guangxi, with a total area of 9195.1 hectares.

It is threatened by habitat loss. It originates from southern China and Vietnam where it has been used to make tea; it has also been propagated as a garden plant for its waxy yellow flowers, which are unusual in a camellia. It is endangered in the wild, but favored as a garden plant.