Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney, Australia

 

Theaceae of South-East Asia

George Orel - Honorary Research Associate
Tony Curry - Research Associate
Adam Marchant - Molecular Systematics Officer
 
While almost every year’s field-trip brings the discovery of one or two previously unknown species of Camellia (Theaceae) from the forests of Vietnam or southern China, genetic research back at the lab is threatening the status of several genera in the family Theaceae.

The Theaceae has its centre of diversity in the foothills of the eastern end of the Himalaya Mountains, where it appears that deep, isolated valleys facilitated the isolation, and evolutionary separation, of populations of these forest under story trees.

Depending on which botanical authority is acknowledged, there may be around three hundred species in the family, most of them being assigned to the genus Camellia. There are several other genera as well, including Gordonia and Anneslea, which have long been recognized based mostly on fruit and seed characteristics.

However, our efforts to explore the genetic and evolutionary relationships within Theaceae from South-East Asia, using DNA marker techniques, indicates that the Camellia species, as well as species assigned to other genera, are very close to each other, despite many visible differences of flowers, leaves, and habit. An outcome of our research may be that, while the number of known species from the area will be greatly increased, the biodiversity at the generic level is under threat!

New species
Flowers and leaves of a newly-discovered species, on the forest floor not far from the City of Da Lat, in Viet Nam. Photo: George Orel

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