Camellia sinensis
node · earth · Yunnan–Assam borderlands
Camellia sinensis is the evergreen shrub or tree whose leaves make tea, with two principal cultivated varieties: var. sinensis, the small-leaved China type, and var. assamica, the large-leaved type native to the Yunnan–Assam borderlands. Nuclear microsatellite and chloroplast studies distinguish three lineages — China type, Chinese Assam type and Indian Assam type — and argue for independent domestication events in China and India rather than a single origin. The primary centre of genetic diversity for var. assamica lies in Yunnan, with north-east India near the south-western limit of its natural range. Where and how many times the plant was domesticated remains actively contested in the genetics literature.
Read in · 1
Evidence · 2
- Indications for Three Independent Domestication Events for the Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) and New Insights into the Origin of Tea Germplasm in China and India Revealed by Nuclear Microsatellites
- Genetic analyses of ancient tea trees provide insights into the breeding history and dissemination of Chinese Assam tea (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)
Timeline
No dated observations are stored for this object. Atlas shows what was observed and when — it does not infer a history.
Connections · 4
- Darjeelingtransported_to
- Yunnanoriginates_in
- Assamlocated_in
- Growing conditions for tea (altitude, rainfall, drainage)constrained_by
Assembled narrative · 1
Assembled from 37 blocks · 2 evidence · 25 related
- Story
- Camellia sinensis is the evergreen shrub or tree whose leaves make tea, with two principal cultivated varieties: var. sinensis, the small-leaved China type, and var. assamica, the large-leaved type native to the Yunnan–Assam borderlands. Nuclear microsatellite and chloroplast studies distinguish three lineages — China type, Chinese Assam type and Indian Assam type — and argue for independent domestication events in China and India rather than a single origin. The primary centre of genetic diversity for var. assamica lies in Yunnan, with north-east India near the south-western limit of its natural range. Where and how many times the plant was domesticated remains actively contested in the genetics literature.
- Knowledge
- Camellia sinensis
- Yunnan
- Growing conditions for tea (altitude, rainfall, drainage)
- Assam
- Darjeeling
- Connections
- Tea
- Darjeeling
- Yunnan
- Assam
- Growing conditions for tea (altitude, rainfall, drainage)
- Tea buried in the Han Yangling mausoleum
- Robert Bruce shown tea growing in Assam
- First tea planted at Darjeeling
- Robert Fortune removes tea plants and tea makers from China
- Camellia sinensis
- Growing conditions for tea (altitude, rainfall, drainage)
- First tea planted at Darjeeling
- Robert Fortune removes tea plants and tea makers from China
- Camellia sinensis
- Tea Horse Road (Chamagudao)
- Tea-for-horse exchange between China and Tibet
- Camellia sinensis
- English (later British) East India Company
- Assam Company
- Robert Bruce shown tea growing in Assam
- East India Company's China monopoly ends; Tea Committee founded
- First Assam tea auctioned in London
- Camellia sinensis
- Darjeeling
- First tea planted at Darjeeling
- Evidence
- Nuclear microsatellite data separate China type, Chinese Assam type and Indian Assam type tea and support multiple independent domestication events rather than a single origin.
- Yunnan holds the primary genetic diversity of Camellia sinensis var. assamica, with distinct gene pools around Pu'er, Lincang and Xishuangbanna and north-east India near the south-western range limit.
Observed changes · 0
No public Signals are attached to this object. Signals show what changed and when it was observed — never a direction or a rank.
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/atlas?object=SPECIES_CAMELLIA_SINENSIS&experience=SPECIES_CAMELLIA_SINENSIS