树木传奇｜油茶：木本油料之王

Legend of Trees — Camellia: The King of Woody Oils

油茶是我国特有的木本食用油料树种，与油橄榄、油棕、椰子并称世界四大木本油料植物。这是一种浑身是宝的树，是我国南方丘陵地区农民致富的“摇钱树”。

油茶在我国已有2300多年的种植历史，茶油是我国特有的传统的食用植物油，油茶的生产和发展源远流长。

Camellia oleifera (Camellia oleifera) is a unique woody edible oil tree species in China. This is a kind of tree full of treasure, which is the "cash cow" for farmers to get rich in hilly areas of southern China.

Camellia oleifera has been cultivated for more than 2300 years in China. It is a traditional edible vegetable oil with a long history of production and development.

油茶古论 源远流长

The ancient theory of Camellia oleifera has a long history

Camellia flower photo by Lin Ping

Camellia oleifera has a long history of cultivation and utilization in China. The ancient book Shan Hai Jing of the pre Qin Dynasty contains: "yuanmu is the oil food in the South", and "yuanmu" is the Camellia oleifera. It can be seen that China has been extracting oil from Camellia oleifera fruit for food for more than 2300 years.

According to research, the name of Camellia oleifera has different records in various general chronicles. In addition to the current commonly called Camellia oleifera, there are also aliases such as Yuanmu, Mujia, theaceae tea, Camellia oleifera, Camellia, Nanshan Camellia, Tanzi, and Chan.

After the Song Dynasty, the records of Camellia oleifera cultivation are systematic and abundant. Mei Yaochen, a poet of the Northern Song Dynasty, wrote in his poem "a gift of Camellia, flowers and trees to Li tinglao" It's still a hindrance. Where can I plant it? " It expresses the exclamation that there is no place to plant camellia seeds. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the characteristics, origin and utility of Camellia oleifera seeds were recorded in detail in tujing materia medica written by Su Song. In Tongzhi, written by Zheng Qiao in the Southern Song Dynasty, there is a record that "more trees are planted in the south mountain soil", which indicates that Camellia oleifera has developed to a large number of cultivation stage in the Song Dynasty.

Camellia oleifera (Camellia oleifera L.) seed oil is known as camellia oil, which belongs to the "imperial food" oil in China since ancient times. Liu Bang， the emperor of the Han Dynasty, granted him the title of "royal food". Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty named the oil seal of tea as "oil for imperial food" and granted it the title of "strange juice of royal food, longevity tea prolonging life". Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty praised "Huaiqing oil tea as smooth as crisp, which is hard to match the delicacy of mountain and sea". "Tiangong Kaiwu" has a record that "camellia oil, oil taste very beautiful.” Li Shangyin, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, had a poem from Camellia oleifera: "Aromatic, nourishing, and invigorating, rushing out of Anchangchun with one cup".

油茶文化 内涵丰富

Camellia culture is rich in connotation

Safflower Camellia Photo courtesy of Lin Ping

Camellia oleifera has ripe flowers and coexisting flowers and fruits. It is commonly known as "Baozi conceived", which is a great wonder in nature. Camellia oleifera is an important carrier of folk custom inheritance and cultural exchanges. Camellia culture can be seen in making friends, hospitality, weddings, birthday banquets, and funerals.

The large-scale color-tuning drama "First Grade Camellia Seven Officials", created by Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi, brought Camellia culture onto the stage and caused a sensation. It won the Guangxi 13th Spiritual Civilization Construction "Five One Project" award, the first In the eighth Guangxi large-scale play show "Osmanthus Gold Award", Camellia oleifera became a carrier of cultural exchanges.

In the areas of Hunan, Guangxi, and Guizhou, the Dong people have the custom of "when guests come to my house, they do not respected without oil tea". In Hunan, some places in the early years had the habit of giving grain and oil to their daughters. The saying "one tea (camellia) and two hemp (sesame oil)" circulated to show that there was more than enough food and drink. In Fujian, there is a custom of giving matcha oil to brides hair in some places. When the emcee gave matcha oil to the bride, he would sing a folk song: "Tea oil slippery, tea oil black. This year, Chapu will be born this year." Chapu means a boy, expressing people's good wishes and blessings.

Camellia is a custom and a must for three meals. "Eating Camellia" has a history of more than a hundred years in Zhaoxing and Dagang, Guizhou. In the New Year season, in Zhaoxing, Guizhou, one can still hear the saying that "you can eat oil-tea camellia to the end, but not to be polite". It can be seen that many aspects of people's lives have been deeply imprinted with Camellia oleifera.

The use of camellia is of great value

茶油营养价值*高，具有预防高血压、高血脂和软化血管等保健作用。茶油与橄榄油的脂肪酸组成、营养成分相似，成分间的比例还略好于橄榄油，因此素有“东方橄榄油”和“油中软黄金”之美誉。

《中国中医药大辞典》记载：“茶油不仅营养丰富，且具有中药材的药用价值，可概括为：增强血管弹性和韧性，延缓动脉粥样硬化，增加肠胃吸收功能，促进内分泌腺体激素分泌，防治神经功能下降，提高人体免疫能力。”李时珍《本草纲目》中有记载：“茶油性偏凉，凉血止血，清热解毒。主治肝血亏损，驱虫。益肠胃，明目。”又云：“茶籽，苦含香毒，主治喘急咳嗽，去病垢。”《农政全书》《本草纲目拾遗》《随息居饮食谱》等多本古籍，都提及山茶油“明目亮发、润肠通便、清热化湿、杀虫解毒”等食用功能。民间还流传用茶油治疗肠梗阻、便秘的土方。

茶油油酸含量高、热稳定性好，也是优良的化妆品用油。茶油可以起到润肤美颜的效果，相传唐朝杨贵妃用茶油沐浴以保持青春不老及治疗体味，清末慈禧太后、珍妃这些后宫佳丽将茶油视为美容护理珍品。

油茶具有多用途特性。油茶种子榨油后的渣滓称为茶枯，含有大量多糖、蛋白质及茶皂素，经深加工可生产精油、皂素、茶粕等系列产品，又可作为重要的有机肥料、生物农药和机床抛光粉，制造洗发香波等。茶皂素有强效的去污和杀菌杀虫能力，可制生态环保的清洁剂、消毒剂和杀虫剂。茶壳可提炼茶碱、栲胶，制作优质栽培基质。茶树干根可用作盆景雕刻材料，制作小农具，生产白炭。

Camellia oleifera is covered with treasure.

The nutritional value of camellia oil is very high. It can prevent hypertension, hyperlipidemia and soften blood vessels. Tea oil and olive oil have similar fatty acid composition and nutritional composition, and the proportion of components is slightly better than olive oil, so it is known as "Oriental olive oil" and "soft gold in oil".

"Great Dictionary of traditional Chinese medicine" records: "camellia oil is not only rich in nutrition, but also has medicinal value of traditional Chinese medicine, which can be summarized as: enhancing vascular elasticity and toughness, delaying atherosclerosis, increasing gastrointestinal absorption function, promoting endocrine gland hormone secretion, preventing and controlling the decline of nerve function, and improving human immune capacity." Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica records: "tea oil is cooler, cooling blood to stop bleeding, clearing heat and detoxification. Indications: liver blood loss, anthelmintic. It is good for the intestines and stomach, and for eyesight. " And cloud: "tea seed, bitter contains fragrant poison, the main treatment of asthma cough, disease scale." The edible functions of camellia oil are mentioned in many ancient books, such as agricultural administration book, compendium of Materia Medica, and suixiju diet. Folk also spread with tea oil treatment of intestinal obstruction, constipation earthwork.

Tea oil has high oleic acid content and good thermal stability. It is also an excellent cosmetic oil. Tea oil can have the effect of moisturizing and beautifying the skin. According to legend, the Tang Dynasty concubine Yang Guifei bathed with tea oil to maintain youthfulness and heal body odor. In the late Qing Dynasty, the empress dowager Empress Cixi and the concubine Zhenfei regarded tea oil as a beauty care treasure.

Camellia oleifera has multi-purpose properties. The residue from the oil-squeezed oil-tea camellia seeds is called chaku, which contains a lot of polysaccharides, protein and tea saponin. After deep processing, it can produce essential oils, saponin, tea dregs and other products, and can be used as important organic fertilizers, biological pesticides and machine polishing Powder, manufacturing shampoo, etc. Tea saponin has strong decontamination and bactericidal and insecticidal abilities, and can be made into eco-environmental cleaning agents, disinfectants and insecticides. Tea husks can be used to extract theophylline and tannin extract to make high-quality cultivation substrates. The dry roots of tea trees can be used as bonsai carving materials, making small farm tools, and producing white charcoal.

茶油营养价值高，具有预防高血压、高血脂和软化血管等保健作用，素有“东方橄榄油”和“油中软黄金”之美誉。方学智摄

With high nutritional value, camellia oil has the health functions of preventing hypertension, hyperlipidemia and softening blood vessels. It is known as "Oriental olive oil" and "soft gold in oil". Photo by Fang Xuezhi

油茶之路 前景光明

The road of Camellia oleifera has a bright future

油茶是列入我国国家粮油安全战略，*个由国家层面力推的经济林树种。发展油茶产业不仅是推动绿色发展、实现精准扶贫的重要推手，也是保障国家粮油安全、助力国民健康长寿的绿色产业。

油茶是一种长寿树。油茶不与粮食争田地，一次种植多年受益，其稳产收获期可达几十年以上，而且采果时节正好错开老百姓干农活的时间，是我国南方名副其实的“铁杆庄稼”“绿色油库”。“一亩油茶百斤油，又娶媳妇又盖楼”这句话高度总结、通俗表述了油茶产业对脱贫攻坚、乡村振兴所起到的积*推动作用。

油茶是常绿树种，根系发达，枝叶繁茂，具有耐贫瘠、适生范围广的特点，被誉为“瘠土明珠”，常被用来绿化荒山、保持水土。此外，油茶又是一个抗污染能力*强的树种，对二氧化硫抗性强，抗氟和吸氯能力也很强，兼备生态效益和经济效益，是“绿色产业、健康生活”的理想之树。

目前，我国油茶种植面积已超过6700万亩，随着近年科技的进步和应用，产业发展速度和质量稳步提升。尽管油茶在我国有2300多年的栽培历史，但由于大面积油茶林为老残、低产林等原因，油茶一直没有成为我国重要的食用油品种。虽头顶着“东方橄榄油”的光环，但茶油行业发展整体仍落后于橄榄油产业。

中国林业科学研究院亚热带林业研究所从建所伊始，老中青三代油茶科技工作者联合全国同行，持续半个多世纪地努力攻关，终于在油茶良种选育、良种快繁、高效栽培以及精深加工领域等方面取得了丰硕的研究成果。

2019年9月17日，习近平总书记考察了亚林所技术支撑的河南光山县司马光油茶园，总书记对油茶产业的关心和重视，让亚林所油茶科技工作者备受鼓舞，也为油茶产业健康可持续发展指明了方向。

Camellia oleifera is included in the national grain and oil security strategy, the first economic forest species pushed by the national level. The development of Camellia oleifera industry is not only an important driving force to promote green development and achieve targeted poverty alleviation, but also a green industry to ensure national grain and oil safety and help the national health and longevity.

Camellia oleifera is a kind of longevity tree. Camellia oleifera does not compete with grain for fields. It benefits from planting for many years at a time. Its stable yield and harvest period can reach more than several decades. Moreover, the fruit picking season just staggers the time for people to do agricultural work. It is a veritable "iron crop" and "green oil depot" in southern China. The sentence "one mu of Camellia oleifera has a hundred catties of oil, and married a daughter-in-law and built a building" is a highly summarized and popular expression of the positive role of Camellia oleifera Industry in poverty alleviation and Rural Revitalization.

Camellia oleifera (Camellia oleifera) is an evergreen tree species with well-developed root system, luxuriant branches and leaves. It has the characteristics of tolerance to barren soil and wide range of growth. It is known as the "Pearl of barren soil", which is often used to green barren mountains and conserve water and soil. In addition, Camellia oleifera is a tree species with strong anti pollution ability, strong resistance to sulfur dioxide, fluorine resistance and chlorine absorption capacity. It has both ecological and economic benefits, and is an ideal tree for "green industry, healthy life".

At present, the planting area of Camellia oleifera in China has exceeded 67 million mu. With the progress and application of science and technology in recent years, the industrial development speed and quality have been steadily improved. Although Camellia oleifera has been cultivated for more than 2300 years in China, Camellia oleifera has not become an important edible oil variety in China due to the fact that the large area of Camellia oleifera forest is old and residual and low yield. Despite the halo of "Oriental olive oil", the overall development of tea oil industry still lags behind the olive oil industry.

Since the establishment of the Institute, three generations of scientific and technological workers of Camellia oleifera have been working hard for more than half a century since the establishment of the Institute. At last, they have made great achievements in the fields of breeding, rapid propagation, efficient cultivation and intensive processing of Camellia oleifera.

In September 17, 2019, general secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Sima Guang oil tea garden of Guangshan County, Henan, which was technically supported by the forest institute. The general secretary paid attention to and attached importance to the camellia industry, and inspired the scientific and technological workers of Camellia oleifera, and pointed out the direction for the healthy and sustainable development of Camellia oleifera industry.

作者简介

　　姚小华   中国林科院亚热带林业研究所研究员，博士生导师，木本油料树种领域首席专家。长期从事经济林培育与利用技术研究，主要研究油茶等木本油料树种培育与利用技术。
贾兴焕   中国林科院亚热带林业研究所综合处处长。

About the Author

　　 Yao Xiaohua, researcher of the Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, doctoral supervisor, chief expert in the field of woody oil species. Has long been engaged in the research of economic forest cultivation and utilization technology, mainly researching the cultivation and utilization technology of woody oil tree species such as Camellia oleifera.

　　 Jia Xinghuan, Director of Comprehensive Division, Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry.

树木档案：

油茶是茶科山茶属油用物种的统称，为常绿小乔木或乔木，其中主要物种为普通油茶，别名：茶子树、茶油树、白花茶。油茶在我国分布范围很广，主要分布在湖南、江西、广西、浙江等省区。油茶生长快，结实早，寿命长。在土壤、气候适宜的条件下，栽后三四年即开花结果，实生15年进入盛果期，嫁接5－6年进入盛果期，可连续结果70-80年。在条件优越的地方，树龄150年以上的油茶树仍结果累累，有少量几百年甚至上千年的树仍然结果。

Tree file:

Camellia oleifera is a collective name for oil-used species of the genus Camellia in the Camellia family. It is an evergreen small tree or tree. The main species is ordinary camellia oleifera, aliases: Camellia sinensis, Camellia oleifera, and white flower tea. Camellia oleifera is widely distributed in my country, mainly in Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces. Camellia oleifera grows fast, sets fruit early, and has a long lifespan. Under suitable soil and climate conditions, it will bloom and bear fruit three or four years after planting, enter the fruit-bearing period for 15 years of fruiting, and enter the fruit-bearing period for 5-6 years after grafting, and bear fruit for 70-80 years. In places with good conditions, oil tea trees over 150 years old still bear fruit, and a small number of trees that are hundreds or even thousands of years old still bear fruit.