Ecological Environment and Introduction Experiments of Three Wild Tea Species from Yunnan

The natural ecological environment of 3 species or varieties of wild tea from Southeastern Yunnan,Camellia gymnogyna Chang,C.crassicolumna Chang and C.sinensis var.assamica Kitamura,has been investigated based on a five year field work and intensive observation.They distribute in the evergreen broad leaved forests with an altitude of 100～2540 meters above sea level.Camellia gymnogyna and C.crassicolumna may grow together in mountain cloud forests as high as 2540 meters above sea level.Among these wild tea species,C.sinensis var.assamica is listed in the Red Data Book for Rare and Endangered Plant Species of China.The introduction and propagation experiments of cuttings, seedlings and seeds of 3 species of wild tea have been carried out in the Kunming Botanical Garden since 1995.The major results of introduction practices are as follows:(1) Based on the experiments in July 1998,it is confirmed that the introduction and domestication of 3 wild tea species are successful in their first stage of introduction.(2) The best time for cultivation of cuttings and seedlings of wild tea is from June to August.(3) The key point to ensure cutting success is to insert cuttings into appropriate medium or soil as soon as the cuttings are collected from mother trees in the fields.(4) Seeds of wild tea have a rest period.It can be interrupted by a treatment of 700×10^-6 GA 3.(5) Rapid propagation of wild tea can be brought about through the approach of tissue culture.The suitable culture medium for wild tea is formula ted as MS+1.5BA+0.15NAA.The succession of introduction will be useful for future development and protection of wild tea species.