Camellia and Chinese ink paintings of the flower. [Photo/VCG; artron.net]

Camellia

Coco Chanel's favorite flower, the camellia, has been planted in China as early as the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280).

There is a poem Ode to Camellia, written by a lady called "Madame Huarui", that describes the camellia as "Blooming on the hills, like burning sunset glow and floating pink clouds…the scenery is more beautiful than hundreds of flowers blooming in heaven."

According to medical doctor Li Shizhen's Ben Cao Gang Mu, a scientific medical text with details of more than 1,800 drugs from Chinese medicine, 1,100 illustrations and 11,000 prescriptions, the flower can be used to cure fire burn and empyrosis.

Click here to listen to a popular song: Send You a Camellia