The Collaborative International Dictionary
Japonica \Ja*pon"i*ca\, n. [NL., Japanese, fr. Japonia Japan.] (Bot.) A species of Camellia ( Camellia Japonica), a native of Japan, bearing beautiful red or white flowers. Many other genera have species of the same name.
Camellia \Ca*mel"li*a\, n. [NL., after Georg Josef Kamel, or Camelli, a Jesuit who is said to have brought it from the East.]
(Bot.) An Asiatic genus of small shrubs, often with shining leaves and showy flowers. Camellia Japonica is much cultivated for ornament, and Camellia Sassanqua and Camellia oleifera are grown in China for the oil which is pressed from their seeds. The tea plant is now referred to this genus under the name of Camellia Thea.
(Hort.) An ornamental greenhouse shrub ( Thea japonica) with glossy evergreen leaves and roselike red or white double flowers.
Wikipedia
Camellia japonica (the Japanese camellia) is one of the best known species of the genus Camellia. Sometimes called the Rose of winter, it belongs to the Theaceae family. It is the official state flower of Alabama. There are thousands of cultivars of C. japonica in cultivation, with many different colors and forms of flowers.
In the wild, it is found in mainland China ( Shandong, east Zhejiang), Taiwan, southern Korea and southern Japan. It grows in forests, at altitudes of around .