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'''''Camellia sinensis''''' is a [[species]] of evergreen [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] in the [[flowering plant]] family [[Theaceae]]. Its leaves, leaf buds, and stems can be used to produce [[tea]]. Common names include '''tea plant''', '''tea shrub''', and '''tea tree''' (unrelated to ''[[Melaleuca alternifolia]]'', the source of [[tea tree oil]], or the genus ''[[Leptospermum]]'' commonly called tea tree).
[[White tea]], [[yellow tea]], [[green tea]], [[oolong]], [[dark tea]] (which includes [[pu-erh tea]]) and [[black tea]] are all harvested from one of two major varieties grown today, ''C. sinensis'' var. ''sinensis'' and ''C. s.'' var. ''assamica'',<ref>[https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=506801 ITIS Standard Report Page Camellia Sinensis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221119190457/https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=506801 |date=19 November 2022 }} retrieved 2009-03-28.</ref> but are [[Tea processing|processed]] differently to attain varying levels of [[oxidation]] with black tea being the most oxidized and
== Description ==
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=== Indian teas ===
Three main kinds of tea are produced in India:
* [[Assam tea|Assam]], from the var. ''assamica'' plant, comes from the near sea-level heavily forested northeastern section of India, the state of [[Assam]]. Tea from here is rich and full-bodied. The first tea estate in India was established in Assam in 1837. Teas are manufactured in either the ''orthodox'' process or the "[[
* [[Darjeeling tea|Darjeeling]], from the var. ''sinensis'' plant, is from the cool and wet [[Darjeeling]] highland region, tucked in the foothills of the [[Himalayas]]. Tea plantations could be at altitudes as high as {{convert|2200|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The tea is delicately flavored, and considered to be one of the finest teas in the world. The Darjeeling plantations have three distinct harvests, termed 'flushes', and the tea produced from each flush has a unique flavor. First (spring) flush teas are light and aromatic, while the second (summer) flush produces tea with a bit more bite. The third, or autumn flush gives a tea that is lesser in quality.
* [[Nilgiri tea|Nilgiri]] is from a southern region of India almost as high as Darjeeling. Grown at elevations between {{convert|1000 and 2500|m|ft|abbr=on}}, Nilgiri teas are subtle and rather gentle, and are frequently blended with other, more robust teas.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}
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=== Pests and diseases ===
{{Main|List of tea diseases}}
Tea leaves are eaten by some [[herbivore]]s, such as the [[caterpillar]]s of the [[willow beauty]] (''Peribatodes rhomboidaria''), a [[geometer moth]].
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