any of several shrubs of the genus Camellia, especially C. japonica, native to Asia, having glossy evergreen leaves and white, pink, red, or variegated roselike flowers.
Also called: japonica any ornamental shrub of the Asian genus Camellia, esp C. japonica, having glossy evergreen leaves and showy roselike flowers, usually white, pink or red in colour: family Theaceae
[C18: New Latin, named after Georg Josef Kamel (1661--1706), Moravian Jesuit missionary, who introduced it to Europe]