Thea sinensis (or Chinese Tea)
This
plant remains shrublike even without cutting it regularly and grows to
a height of only 3 to 4 metres. It is especially useful for areas with
moderate climate and even tolerates frost. The China-tea bush has been
cultivated for a thousand years which resulted in an art-variety of
approximately 5,000 species. However, not all of these are grown in
amounts worth talking about.
The first tea cultivation in India started in the 19th century in the region Darjeeling with the Chinese camellia sinensis.
After the discovery of the Assam plant in the rainforest of the
province of Assam, crossbreeding took place between two different tea
bush varieties in India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in order to take
advantage of the synergies between the two. These hybrids are
cultivated almost everywhere today. For economic reasons the proportion
of the quickly growing Assam plant is kept as high as possible in
further hybrids.