The flowers are 5–7 centimetres (2.0–2.8 in) in diameter, with 5 to 8 white to dark pink petals.

[3] This plant was not known in western society until in 1820 Captain Richard Rawes of the East Indiaman Warren Hastings brought Camellia sasanqua var.

stricata to his relation, Thomas Carey Palmer, of Bromley in Kent.

[3] Camellia sasanqua is valued in gardens for its handsome glossy green foliage, and fragrant single flowers that can range in color from white to deep pink and are produced extremely early in the season.

Various cultivars have been selected, of which 'Crimson King',[6] 'Hugh Evans'[7] and 'Jean May'[8] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.