90
Camellia Breeding to Develop
Yellow Camellia Flowers
John T. Wang (San Francisco, U S A)
Abstract: My purpose of camellia breeding is to
develop new camellias to have yellow or creamy
color flower. By utilizing Camellia nitidissima and
very pale color flowers of C. reticulata hybrids
as the parentage plants, many F1 hybrids were
produced. The flowers of F1 hybrid seedlings
demonstrate very pale petal color with obvious
creamy color in center portion of the flower. By
means of back crossing, nine seedlings of F2
hybrids were produced and five seedlings start to
bloom. The F2 flowers are generally found in pale
creamy color. The yellow color intensity, however,
is not enough. The size of F2 hybrid flower is
smaller, between miniature to small in size. The
result indicates C. reticulata posses the dominance
to suppress the yellow coloration being transferred
to the flower of their off spring. On the other hand,
a few new camellia seedlings of C. japonica were
produced with rather attractive flowers flushed
with yellow color. My ongoing task is to use other
yellow flowered C. species to breed new yellow
camellias.
Introduction
The golden yellow camellia flower evokes a
passionate response from camellia lovers all over
the world. It also brings a major challenge to
camellia breeders. Beginning in the 1970s when C.
nitidissima was first used to breed yellow flowers
by Kunming Botanical Garden through to the time
when yellow hybrid flowers were being developed
by Japanese breeders, camellia lovers throughout
the world are able to enjoy many new and very
attractive yellow camellia flowers. Even now, more
yellow Camellia species are being discovered in
Vietnam and China. There is no doubt that many
new yellow Camellia species will be introduced.
My favorite hobby is to breed new camellias.
Given this current situation I need to plan my own
camellia breeding programme.
In 2004 many of my F1 seedlings, bred with C.
nitidissima crossed with pale color flowers of C.
reticulata hybrids, were in bloom. Today a few
of my F2 seedling, bred between C. nitidissima
and my F1 hybrid, have also started to flower. The
results indicate that genetically C. reticulata tends
to suppress most of yellow coloration transfer to
their offspring.
At the same time, several attractive new camellias
of C. japonica origin with flowers flushed with
yellow were developed in my own garden. These
flowers, in my opinion, are worthy of appreciation.
The major difficulty in my camellia breeding is
gaining access to new yellow Camellia species at
the right time. Recently I managed to collect some
pollen to take back to California. The viability
of this pollen was likely to be low because of
prolonged exposure to room temperatures or the
poor condition of original pollen. At present only
a few hybrid seedlings have germinated and are
potted up.
1 Seedling flowers bred from C. nitidissima
A There were at least 6 seedling plants bred from
C. reticulata ‘Susanne Withers’ and C. nitidissima.
Their flowers are generally off white with obvious
creamy color at the center portion of the flower.
Photo 1. C. reticulata ‘Suzanne Withers’
x C. nitidissima
Photo 2 C. reticulata ‘Suzanne Withers’
x C. nitidissima
91
B By crossing among C. reticulata ‘Suzanne
Withers’, C x hybrid ‘Loretta Feathers’, C. ‘White
Retiic’ and C. j. ‘Honeymoon’ I have developed
at least 35 of my own reticulata hybrids with very
pale flowers called Wang’s White or WW 1 to
WW35. Again, many seedling flowers are only an
ivory color, the color intensifying slightly after a
few days. The results indicate that, in most cases,
the yellow color is mainly blocked in the F1 off
spring.
Photo 5 C. nitidissima x F1-3
Photo 3 WW1 x C. nitidissima
Photo 6 F1a x C.nitidissima
portion. They are C. j. ‘Brushfield’s Yellow’, C.
rusticana ‘Botanyuki’, C. j ‘Witman Yellow’, C. j
‘Gwenneth Morey’ and seedling M32, with which
I developed my own new camellia plants carrying
yellowish flowers.
‘Ivory Carving’
Photo 4 WW9 x C. nitidissima
C F2 seedlings were also produced in my garden
as follows;
a. C. nitidissima X F1 seedling
X C. nitidissima (Photo 6)
b. F1 seedling
Obviously the flowers are only in very light cream
or ivory color. There are single and semi double
flowers. The drawback is that the flower size is
getting smaller.
2 New yellow flower of C. japonica
There are quite a few C.japonica flowers showing
very nice yellow coloration, mostly at the center
Photo 7 B.Yellow x M32
92
‘Big Anemone’
Suzhou Embroidery’: The unique and intensive
yellow color is only located at the flower center.
The color stays with petal veins to spread out. It is a
small flower, middle to late to bloom. Brushfield’s
Yellow X M32.
Photo 8 B.Yellow open Seed
Photo 10 ‘Suzhou Embroidery’
Photo 11 ‘Suzhou Embroidery’
Photo 9 ‘Suzhou Embroidery’
This medium size anemone flower has rather
limited petaloids. So far I observed three color
variations: white petals with large rose pink strips
and creamy center, Ivory petal with pink strip
and creamy center and rose pink petal with a
mix of rose and cream petaloids. The parentage:
Brushfield’s Yellow x seedling T17
This flower (photo 16 ‘Jinhua Jade Plate’) was
developed about 15 years ago by ‘White Dragon’
x ‘Elegans Champagne’. It is a large flower with
very fine petal serration. The center is a very clear
creamy yellow with a greenish cast.
Photo 12 ‘Suzhou Embroidery’
93
3 Other related work
Photo 13 ‘Morning Sun piercing through Rainbow’
Photo 17 C.flavida
A. My C. flavida is finally matured to produce
its first yellow flower. A small amount of pollen
was collected and stored. I need be very careful
to ration its usage, there is likely to be enough to
cross 100 flowers.
Photo 14 ‘Morning Sun piercing through Rainbow’
Photo 18 ‘Putuo Purple Light’
B. Camellia ‘Putuo Purple Light’ is a cross between
‘Suzanne Withers’ x ‘Honeymoon’
Photo 15 ‘Morning Sun piercing through Rainbow’
There is a tiny area of cream color at the flower
center. This picture was taken from a nursery at
Qingdao City , China.
Photo 16 ‘Jinhua Jade Plate’
Photo 19 C. tieniii
94
C. tienii pollen was collected from Jinhua City.
Two tiny seed sprouts are observed: the cross
‘Tiffany’ x C. tienii.
Growth responses of five
Camellia species to air
pollution from sulfur dioxide
and fluoride
HU Xian-cong* YIN Aihua
Foshan Institute of Forestry, Foshan,
Guangdong, China
* Author for correspondence: senior engineer in
ornamentals, [email protected]
This project was supported by Foshan Sci.& Tech.
Development Programme (200602005)
Photo 20 Hybrid Seedlings of Tiffany x C. tienii
Summary: The goal of breeding new yellow
camellias is still elusive but very positive for me.
I have learned a lot from my practical experience
and I am diligently building many bridges that will
eventually lead me to reach my goal.
Abstract: Plants of five species of genus Camellia
were exposed to heavy air pollution by sulfur
dioxide and fluoride and to relatively clean air
as a control to evaluate their growth responses to
air pollution. After one year, experiments were
carried out to measure plant growth parameters
such as plant height, basal diameter, crown area
and complex growth rate as indexes of pollution
tolerance. The results indicated that the species
tested were divided into two types, i.e. Class I, most
tolerant species (C.nitidissima, C. hongkongensis,
C.changii and C. oleifera); and Class II, mid
tolerant species, C. caudata.
Key words: Theaceae; golden camellia; air
pollution; growth; response
Environmental pollution is a severe issue for all
nations around the world. As modern industry
develops and the pollutants discharged into the air
increase daily, the ecosystem is being destroyed.
Air pollution and acid rain, which sabotage the
ecosystem in one way or another[1-3], are among the
serious environmental problems. Plants can purify
the air through absorption and transition of the
pollutant and, as a result, it is feasible that plants
can be treated as a tool to avert air pollution and
more emphasis has been placed on this capability
in recent years. When selecting a series of trees
for afforestation, their resistance, absorption and
purification capability and restoration function
must be considered in addition to the effect on the
landscape.
There is a plentiful supply of Theaceae plants,
a genus that is rich in diversity. China has the
longest history in the cultivation of Theaceae