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
White tea White" and "Fujian White". Some tea from the related wild "Camellia taliensis" in Yunnan is made using white tea processing techniques. White tea, like black and green tea, is made from the "Camellia sinensis" plant and contains polyphenols, a set of phytonutrients that are thought to be responsible for the health effects of tea. Different white teas have different amounts of catechins, a category of polyphenols, and the overall range of concentrations overlaps with that of green tea, meaning that some white teas have the same concentration of polyphenols as some green teas. This may be due to the variety