Camellia sinensis var. pubilimba Hung T. Chang

Camellia sinensis var. pubilimba Hung T. Chang, Acta Sci. Nat. Univ. Sunyatseni 20 (1): 98. 1981. = Thea cantoniensis Lour., Fl. Cochinch. 1: 339. 1790, syn. nov. – Holotype: Loureiro s. n. (P 00150892, image!). — An image of the holotype is available at https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00150892 = Thea oleosa Lour., Fl. Cochinch. 1: 339. 1790, syn. nov. – Holotype: Loureiro s. n. (P 00150891, image!). — An image of the holotype is available at https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00150891 = Thea parvifolia Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 370. 1796 ≡ Camellia sinensis f. parvifolia (Salisb.) Sealy, Rev. Gen. Camellia 116. 1958, syn. nov. – Neotype (designated here): Loureiro s. n. (P 00150891, image!). = Thea chinensis var. pubescens Pierre, Fl. Forest. Cochinch. t. 114 B. 1887, syn. nov. – Lectotype (designated here): Pierre, Fl. Forest. Cochinch. t. 114 B. 1887. var. niaowangensis = Camellia sinensis var. niaowangensis Q. H. Chen & H. Peng, Seed 30 (1): 65. 2011, syn. nov. – Holotype: China. Guizhou: Guiding, Pingfa, 1400 m, 5 November 2007, J. H. Wang 07001 (HGAS!). Holotype. China • Guangxi: Lingyun, Guangxi Forestry Institute 4209 (GXFI!). Notes. Abaxial sepal indumentum of tea plants is a naturally variable character. Chang (1981) proposed a name, C. sinensis var. pubilimba, for the tea plant bearing an abaxially pubescent sepal. However, the earliest names for this kind of plant are T. cantoniensis and T. oleosa, which were described in 1790, and their types are conserved at herbarium P (also see Sealy 1958). Based on molecular phylogenetic analyses (Shen et al. 2025; Zhao 2025), samples of C. sinensis var. pubilimba cannot form a clade, and they are nested in the broad concept of tea, so it should be treated as an infraspecific taxon of tea rather than an independent species. Therefore, T. cantoniensis and T. oleosa do not bear priority at the infraspecific rank under Arts. 11.2 and 11.4 of the ICN. Sealy (1958) suggested that C. sinensis f. parvifolia bore an abaxially hairy sepal. Since no type was indicated in the protologue of T. parvifolia (Salisbury 1796), the holotype of T. oleosa (P 00150891) is selected as the neotype of T. parvifolia. Sealy’s C. sinensis f. parvifolia may be the earliest infraspecific name for the plant based on the literature available. However, it is better to treat the tea plant bearing an abaxially hairy sepal as a variety of C. sinensis because this variation occurs in the natural distribution areas of both tea and Assam tea (C. sinensis var. assamica). Additionally, Chang’s (1981) C. sinensis var. pubilimba has been used so widely (e. g., Chang and Bartholomew 1984; Ming 2000; Ming and Bartholomew 2007; Meng et al. 2018; Nguyen et al. 2022; Zhao 2024; Kong et al. 2025) that sustaining its nomenclatural stability will be very helpful (see Art. 14.2 of ICN). Therefore, the plant remains recognized as a variety of tea, and the name, C. sinensis var. pubilimba, retains the priority at the varietal rank (Art. 11.4 of the ICN) and accordingly, serves as the single correct name for the taxon. Thea chinensis var. pubescens bore an abaxially hairy sepal according to its illustration (Pierre 1887), which is selected as the lectotype of the taxon. Thea cantoniensis, T. chinensis var. pubescens, T. oleosa, and T. parvifolia are all treated as the earlier heterotypic synonyms of C. sinensis var. pubilimba. A recently published name, C. sinensis var. niaowangensis (Wang et al. 2011), is also treated as a heterotypic synonym of C. sinensis var. pubilimba because it bears the common diagnostic character state of the sepals.