The morphological characteristics of tea plants were compared, using materials collected from Chekiang, Kiangsi and Kwangtung in China in August, 1978, and further cluster analysis was carried out, based on the measurement values of leaf characters.
The tea plants at Chekiang had generally small leaves and they were taxonomically assumed to belong to the form
parvifolia within var.
sinensis. Almost all the tea plants at Kiangsi belonged to the common var,
sinensis, although there were a few of the form of
parvifolia. At Lu Shan the existence of the form
macrophylla was recognized. The tea plants at Kwangtung were inclined to have larger leaves than those at Kiangsi, and many plants which resembled the types of var.
assamica were observed.
The results of cluster analysis showed that they could be classified into 3 groups. The first group included all the forms of
parvifolia with extremely small leaves. In the second group both Kiangsi forms and chekiang forms were grown together and they formed a majority of the 30 individual samples used as materials. In the third group there were only the tea plants at Kwangchow in Kwangtung, and they belonged decidedly to var,
assamica.
In Kwangtung both var, sinensis and var.
assamica were grown together, and therefore it was conjectured that in the regions of Szechwan, Yunnan and Kweichow in China, both types of plants with larger and smaller leaves would grow together.
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