Tea plant morphological characteristics

The tea plant's scientific name is Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze, a perennial woody evergreen plant. "Camellia" means "the Camellia genus", and "sinensis" is Latin for "China". In botanical taxonomy, tea plants belong to the angiosperm phylum, dicotyledon class, Theales order, Theaceae family, and Camellia genus. It has been confirmed that China is the origin of tea plants and the birthplace of world tea culture.

Tea plant tree types

Tea plants have three main forms: arborescent, small arborescent, and shrubby. Arborescent tea trees are tall with obvious main trunks, generally over 3 meters high, while wild large tea trees in primitive forests in Yunnan and other places can reach over 10 meters; small arborescent tea trees are more cultivated in Fujian, Guangdong and Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, with relatively obvious main trunks branching 20-30 cm above the ground; shrubby tea trees have shorter crowns, growing 1.5-3 meters tall naturally without obvious main trunks, and are the most widely cultivated.

Tea plant roots

Tea plant roots consist of taproots, lateral roots, fine roots and root hairs. The taproot can vertically penetrate soil 2-3 meters deep, while generally cultivated shrub-type tea plant root systems extend about 1 meter into soil. The taproot and primary/secondary lateral roots form the root system framework, serving to anchor the tea plant, transport nutrients, and store nutrients.