I have what I think is a camellia japonica in my front yard. My dad planted it when I was very young and has long since past away so I cannot ask him what it is. But I have also heard of it called a quince. It has red fowers in the spring and shiny thick leaves just like the picture on your website. Is this one and the same name? It has apple like fruit in the late fall. last year I had alot of fruit on it but was too afraid of poisoning someone with it. I have heard that quince jelly is great but I am not sure if this is actually quince. Can you help me?
I'm not sure about the last reply but it appears to me that your photograph is of a camellia sasanqua called Yuletide. Hope that helps.
Generally, Camellia sasanqua are winter-flowering, while Camellia japonica are spring. This photograph is from April, and I've double-checked this image against other species Camellia japonica images (not cultivars). See image search for "Camellia japonica L." (added the L. to get the species author in the name, which will eliminate most of the cultivars)
The Japonica as pictured sure looks to me to be a Higo Camellia. In the nursery we considered the Higos from Japan to be a variety of Japonica. The example pictured is a darn good red. Give me a few days and I'll work on the name of this one. Jim
Higo camellias have oversized anthers. Viewed without another example held next to if for comparion, this looks like a typical Camellia japonica, like might be seen in the wild. It does not look like C. x vernalis 'Yuletide'.
Unless the flower of this Camellia is only 1 inch or less across we are still looking at it being a Higo. Many Higos were indeed found in the wild in Japan. There probably are not a lot of photos of the Higo Camellias posted online but I did find a link below that shows a few of them. What can separate a single Higo from a single Japonica is right in the center of the flower. The actual size of a typical flower and the sourcing for this Camellia may also be needed to track this one down but I am almost certain this one has a name. I may even have it but I need to double check the name of mine as I am away from home at the moment. miyazaki-kodomonokuni The shape of this flower is similar to 'Okan', only mentioned as an example, which is a rose-pink single I believe that I think offhand came about as a sport off 'Yamato nishiki'. I was hoping to see a photo of 'Shintsukasa' or 'Yamatobeni' online. The red I want to find a photo of or a reference to, I was told a long while back was a parent of 'Maroon Gold', one of my all time favorite Japonicas. Jim
This is wild collected material from South Korea via the Morris Arboretum. Wild collected number for the seed was KNW.0352 - I don't have the reference to KNW on hand, though.
