Leopard-skin-like tree trunks, arm-thick branches, and scattered blossoms among the Tea leaves… Recently, on several ancient eagle tea trees in Wuxi, Chongqing, tea flowers have bloomed, clear and delicate.
It is said that the eagle tea comes from the evergreen tree Alseodaphne semicarpifolia of the Lauraceae family, with very hard seed shells. According to legend, the seeds need to be swallowed by eagles, and after the shell is softened by stomach acid and excreted, they can germinate, hence the name “eagle tea.” In Wuxi, there are more than 50,000 mu (about 3,333 hectares) of eagle tea planted, including ten eagle tea trees that are a thousand years old and 2,500 eagle tea trees over a hundred years old.
Image of an ancient eagle tea tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tourists admiring the ancient tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tea flowers on the tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of an ancient eagle tea tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tourists admiring the tea flowers. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tea seeds on the ancient tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tea flowers hidden among the leaves. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of ripening tea seeds. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tea flowers and seeds adorning the branches. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.
Image of tourists looking up to admire the tea flowers on the ancient tree. Photo by Wang Qiang, courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.