Camellia sinensis Camellia sinensis Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. It is of the genus "Camellia" () of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. Common names include "tea plant", "tea shrub", and "tea tree" (not to be confused with "Melaleuca alternifolia", the source of tea tree oil, or "Leptospermum scoparium", the New Zealand Tea Tree). "Camellia sinensis" var. "sinensis" and "Camellia sinensis" var. "assamica", are two major varieties grown today. White tea, yellow tea, green tea, oolong, dark tea (which includes pu-erh tea) and black tea are
Camellia oil is a sweet seasoning and cooking oil made by pressing the seeds of "C. oleifera", "C. japonica", and to a lesser extent other species such as "C. crapnelliana", "C. reticulata", "C. sasanqua" and "C. sinensis". Relatively little-known outside East Asia, it is the most important cooking oil for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China. Camellia oil is commonly used to clean and protect the blades of cutting instruments. Camellia oil pressed from seeds of "C. japonica", also called tsubaki oil or tsubaki-abura (椿油) in Japanese, has been traditionally used in Japan for hair care. The camellia