Camellias

Camellia chekiangoleosa
Distribution: Chinese provinces of Zhejiang, E Jianxi, Hunan, SW Hubei and SE Anhui.
Flowers: 7.7-12cm across, opening to a flat flower with 5 to 7 bright red petals, often with cleft margins, surrounding a neat centre of golden stamens.
Mid-winter to Spring.
Leaves: 6.7-12cm long and 3-6cm wide, with widely spaced very shallow serrations, sharply pointed.
It grows into a well-furnished shrub which can become a small tree to 7m if allowed.
This species has been found to be frost hardy down to -6C in cultivation in the West.
Its seeds are a traditional source of edible oil.