Trivially Speaking: Tea trees blossom in Newberg, Oregon

​Perhaps it was a sign or at least a subtle hint from nature.

On a recent odyssey to the​ ​Northwest — no Circe, no sirens so not a real Odyssey — we happened to be in a Vacation​ ​Rental By Owner (VRBO to the knowledgeable) when a ​spring flowering occurred. The​ ​Camellia tree went into full bloom. The ground was covered with bright pink colors as the​ ​petals fell from wind and drizzle.

Yes, I said drizzle; it's the best word I could conjure up​ ​to describe the almost-rain that was prevalent during our two-plus weeks in the Willamette​ ​Valley of Oregon.

I was unfamiliar with the Camellia as a flowering plant/tree. My 12 hours of college ​botany did not seem to address anything that I have subsequently encountered in the six decades since. I don't know if the instructor spent too much time on the whole stamen/pistil thing or if he was just so boring — talking to the blackboard as he did — that I​ ​drifted off during the practical knowledge portions (limited).

As a result, my curiosity​ ​encouraged me into research of the Camellia.I discovered that the Camellia was more than just a pretty petal.

If you remember your taxonomy — and who doesn't — you’ll recall that at the bottom end of all that ​kingdom, ​phylum, etc. is ​genus and ​species. The ​genus is Camellia but when you go to fill in that species line there are about 220 choices.

I chose​ ​the species sinensis to pursue because its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce that​ ​popular (to some) beverage, tea​. Common names are: tea plant, tea shrub and tea tree.

White tea, yellow tea, green tea, dark tea, black tea and oolong are all harvested from one​ ​of the two major varieties of Camellia sinensis.

These little rascals are found naturally in tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to​ ​Japan and Indonesia.

The shrubs, trees, whatever have been cultivated throughout the​ ​world for centuries.

The Camellia hasn't always been called that. The generic name​ ​Camellia was taken from the Latinized name of ​the Rev. Georg Kamel.

Georg was a​ ​Moravian-born Jesuit lay brother as well as being a pharmacist, and a missionary to the Philippines.

Georg didn't discover (the plants had been around for centuries) the plant or​ ​name it or call it a Camellia. Carl Linnaeus chose to name the genus to honor Kamel's​ ​overall contributions to botany; I can't tell you what they were, we didn't cover them.

And​ ​actually, Linnaeus didn't consider the plant a Camellia but a Thea.

Sixty-five years later in​ ​1818, Robert Sweet shifted all formerly Thea species to the genus Camellia.

The plants had​ ​no advocate to complain about the switch so it has remained through the years.

Well, Georg​ ​would be really proud to know that his namesake has become the official flower of a small​ ​Oregon town.

The Camellia outside my Temporary Willard Manor became the official​ ​flower of Newberg, Oregon in 1949; I don't know that my example is that old but it's possible.

In that year the Men's Gardening Club organized "Camellia Planting Days" in​ ​April and offered plants to residents at a discount. More than 400 Camellia plants hit the soil during that frenzy of planting.

Newberg was a very small town in those early days of​ ​Camellia fascination as a floral fad across the United States.

The CEO and our dear friend​ were in grade school at that time and probably more interested in recess (and boys) than in​ ​planting Camellias but the event aged well with them.

The city's groundskeeper from a past​ ​festival (2008) researched the flower's local history. He discovered that many of the​ ​Camellia bushes from the 1949 planting were still around.

In 2017, the Oregon legislature​ ​declared Newberg the Camellia City of Oregon. A welcoming sign states that proudly on the​ ​entrance to town.

Its own Camellia, the City of Newberg Camellia, was created a year later. That bush is​ registered with the American Camellia Society.

Little did I know at the occasion of our​ ​stay that those blooms that landed outside our door could be made in to tea. Honestly, I was paying more attention to the multitude of wineries in the area.

I really like nice​ ​wine better than tea.

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