Scott /8/06

> Summer Tips > wrote:
>> What is difference between china bush and Clonal bush? which is
>> better?
>
> I believe "china bush" means that a tea is from C. sinensis rather than
> C. assamensus. "Clonal bush" means that it's from bushes that are clones
> from a cutting of a bush that was previously known to produce good tea.
>
> "China bush" may tell you something about the style, but is not necessarily
> a good or bad thing. "Clonal bush" really doesn't tell you anything at all
> useful.


If I'm not mistaken "clonal" tells us that genetically all the clonal bushes
from the same source are exactly the same. When it comes to tomatoes and
other vegetables and grains, the loss of genes in the gene pool due to
cloning a small number of uniform, homogeneous varieties is now seen as a
serious problem. The problem extends into such areas as lack of resistance
to diseases, boring tastes, and so on. Why would clonal teas not be subject
to the many ills of uniformity brought about by clonal planting?

Michael, speaking on behalf of plants everywhere.