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
History of tea "Camellia sinensis"—the area including the northern part of Burma, and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China. Yunnan Province has also been identified as "the birthplace of tea...the first area where humans figured out that eating tea leaves or brewing a cup could be pleasant." Fengqing County in the Lincang City Prefecture of Yunnan Province in China is said to be home to the world's oldest cultivated tea tree, some 3,200 years old. According to "The Story of Tea", tea drinking likely began in Yunnan province during the Shang Dynasty (1500 BC–1046 BC), as a medicinal drink. From there, the drink