Nanbanko
A Japanese heirloom with ancient specimens surviving in western Kansai — large deep red anemone form with fluted guard petals and a mixed center of petaloids, stamens, and twisted petals.
First documented by Andoh in 1971 and further described in the 1975 Gendai Tsubaki Meikan and 1979 Senchinshū, this cultivar features large deep red flowers in anemone form with large, fluted guard petals and a complex center of mixed petaloids, stamens, and small erect twisted petals. The leaves are elliptic to broad-ovate, mid-green, long-acuminate, and sharply serrate. Ancient trees of this cultivar survive in western Kansai, Japan, attesting to its long history in Japanese garden culture. Resembles 'Benijishi.' Source: International Camellia Register.