一.Bothnical Characteristices of the Tea Plant
1. Name and classification status
Tea is the official middle name, which comes from the "Illustrated Classic of Materia Medica"; The scientific name is Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, and the genus name is Camellia (Camellia). Linnaeus Latinized his surname in honor of 17th century Jesuit missionary and botanist Georg Joseph Kamel, who conducted detailed research on Philippine plants. Although he did not directly study tea, Linnaeus named the entire Camellia genus, including tea, after him; Seed addition word: sinensis is Latin, meaning "from China" (Sina is the ancient Latin name for China), clearly indicating that the origin of tea is China. When Linnaeus first named tea trees in the 18th century, wild large leaf tea trees had not yet been found in India and other places in the West, so Linnaeus regarded China as the only native place of tea. This epithet has been preserved to this day and has become the most intuitive geographical indication in the identity of tea plants. It bears various Chinese common aliases including ming, large wild tea tree, tea shrub, jia and so on; In plant taxonomy, it belongs to the evergreen shrubs or small trees of the Rhododendron order, Camellia family, and Camellia genus in the Magnolia class.
2. Distribution and growth environment
Tea is a native tree species in China; The wild species of tea are found in mountainous areas of various provinces and regions south of the Yangtze River, in the shape of small trees with larger leaves; It is cultivated in Wenxian City and Kangxian city of Gansu Province in the north, Linyi city and Rizhao city of Shandong Province in the south, Hainan Province in the south and Xizang in the southwest. Tea prefers light, slightly shade tolerant, prefers warm and humid climate, most suitable for an annual average temperature of 20-30 º C, annual precipitation of 1000-2000mm, prefers acidic soil, saline alkali soil and calcareous soil cannot grow. It can be sown, cut, and propagated by pressing strips.
3. Appearance characteristics
Plant: Evergreen shrub or small tree, with hairless tender branches.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, leathery, oblong or elliptical in shape, 4-12 cm long, blunt or sharp at the tip, wedge-shaped at the base, shiny on top, hairless or initially soft haired below, 5-7 pairs of lateral veins, serrated at the edges, petiole 3-8 mm long, hairless.
Flowers: 1-3 axillary, white, with stems 4-6 millimeters long; Bracts 2, fall early; Sepals 5, broadly ovate to rounded, hairless, persistent; Petals 5-6, broadly ovate, 1-1.6 cm long, slightly connected at the base, hairless on the back, stamens 8-13 mm long, 1-2 mm connected at the base; The ovary is densely white; The style is hairless, the tip is 3-lobed, and the lobes are 2-4 millimeters long. Flowers bloom from August to November.
Fruit: Capsule with 3 compartments, flattened spherical, 4-5 cm in diameter, 1-2 seeds per compartment. The fruit ripens in the autumn of the second year.
2, The Main Purpose for Tea
Firstly, tea leaves contain caffeine and tannic acid, which have the effects of refreshing, quenching thirst, and diuresis, making it a global beverage.
Secondly, extracting oil from tea seeds can provide lubricating oil.
Thirdly, tea trees have a long history of cultivation in China and are a traditional export commodity.
Tea has significant cultural value in our country.
