Is the tea plant a tree or a shrub?
Topics related to whether the tea plant is a tree or a shrub and the basic characteristics of tea plant cultivation are as follows:
During the process of dispersal and migration, the tea plant has undergone various variations due to changes in environmental conditions. Through long-term natural selection, it has generally formed six ecological types. Based on the utilization value of tea and the cultivation areas and tea types that have developed, there are four major tea regions in China.
Ecological types of tea plants
◆ Low latitude, high altitude, tree-like large-leaf type
In the region south of the 23rd parallel north, with altitudes between 800 to 2500 meters, the southern part of Yunnan is the most suitable ecological area for tea plants. The tea plants are tree-like, with very large or large leaves, fat and hairy buds (wild tea plants are mostly less hairy or hairless), high content of tea polyphenols and caffeine, moderate amino acids, and suitable for making black tea.
Represented by Dabie tea from Shuangjiang, Mengku in Yunnan, Nannuo mountain tea from Menghai, and Jingmai mountain tea from Lancang. This ecological area has many wild large tea trees. Tea plants are prone to sunburn, have weak cold resistance, poor adaptability, and cannot survive in areas where the minimum temperature is below -3°C.
◆ South Asian tropical (including marginal tropical) tree-like large-leaf rainforest type
In the region south of the Tropic of Cancer, below 550 meters altitude, with an average annual temperature of 20 to 26°C, an annual active accumulated temperature of 7000°C or more at or above 10°C, extreme minimum temperatures above 0°C, annual precipitation between 1800 to 2000mm, red and yellow soils, belonging to the tropical monsoon and rainforest regions, including the southeastern part of Yunnan and the southern part of Guangxi.
This area is also the most suitable ecological region for tea plants, with no frost throughout the year and year-round growth. Tea plants are mostly tree-like, with large leaves, hairy buds, most calyces hairy, high content of tea polyphenols, moderate amino acids, suitable for making black tea and special teas. Tea plants have weak cold resistance and poor adaptability, represented by Maoliu tea from Malipo in Yunnan, middle-eastern large tea trees from Guangxi, and Bobai large tea trees. There are many wild large tea trees on the western edge of this region.
◆ South Asian tropical small tree-like large-leaf type
Between 24° to 26°N, at altitudes between 300 to 1000 meters, with an average annual temperature of 18 to 22°C, belonging to the South Asian tropical evergreen monsoon forest region, including central and northern Guangxi, and southern Hunan and Jiangxi. This area is a suitable ecological region for tea plants.
Tea plants are mostly small tree-like, occasionally shrub-like, with large leaves, thick leaf texture, hairy buds, most calyces hairy, high content of tea polyphenols, low amino acids, suitable for making black tea and green tea. Tea plants have strong cold resistance and large adaptability differences, represented by Longsheng large-leaf tea from Guangxi, Lechang white-leaf tea from Guangdong, and Rucheng white-leaf tea from Hunan.
Is the tea plant a tree or a shrub?
◆ Mid-South tropical small tree-like medium-leaf type
Between 26° to 30°N, south of the Yangtze River, below 800 meters altitude, with an average annual temperature of 16 to 19°C, and red and red-yellow soils as the main soil types, belonging to the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest region. This area is a suitable ecological region for tea plants.
Mostly small tree-like, occasionally shrub-like, with significant morphological variation, large or medium leaves, moderate content of tea polyphenols, amino acids, and caffeine, strong cold and heat resistance, suitable for making black tea, green tea, and oolong tea. Represented by Cuwei tea from Ningdu in Jiangxi, Ku tea from Yanling in Hunan, and Shuixian tea from Fujian.
◆ Mid-Asian tropical shrub-like large, medium, and small leaf type
Between 30° to 32°N, in the north and south of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, below 300 meters altitude, with an average annual temperature of 15 to 18°C.
Tea plants have rich morphological diversity, shrub-like in shape, with large, medium, and small leaves, such as Dabie large-leaf tea from Badong in Hubei, Yuntai Mountain tea from Anhua in Hunan, and Yangxian tea from Yixing in Jiangsu. Low tea polyphenols, high amino acids are their main characteristics, mostly suitable for making green tea and black tea.
◆ North Asian tropical and warm temperate shrub-like small and medium leaf type
Located between 32° to 35°N, north of the Yangtze River, south of the Qinling Mountains, east of the Daba Mountains to the coast, below 200 meters altitude, including Jiangsu, Anhui, northern Hubei, Henan, southern Shaanxi, and Gansu.
The vegetation is mainly coniferous and deciduous broad-leaved forests, occasionally mixed with evergreen broad-leaved forests. This area is a sub-suitable ecological region for tea plants. There are more than five months of dormancy throughout the year. Tea production areas are distributed in spots or blocks, mainly concentrated in the hilly areas from Dabie Mountain, Tongbai Mountain, Funiu Mountain, Wudang Mountain, Daba Mountain to the Qinling Mountains.
In winter, it is dry and cold, often suffering from severe frost damage as the main natural disaster. Represented by Dushan variety from Lu'an in Anhui, Xinyang variety from Henan, and Ziyang variety from Shaanxi.