Wild Teas of Assam and North East India

Abstract

India is one of the largest tea producers in the world. In India the state of Assam is a large tea growing belt in the world where the renowned Assam teas grow. The tea was discovered growing wild in Assam by the British. Before the discovery of wild teas the local population of Assam, some of the tribal people, were in the habit of drinking tea in their indigenous method of preparation since time immemorial. Since the early part of the nineteenth century, discovery of ‘wild’ plants of Assam and Cambodia races of tea were recorded. In Assam and the North-East area at present in all the explorations carried out to the original tea areas, hybrids of the three main varieties of tea are found. The true to type original Assam variety is yet to be discovered. Existence of wild tea plants in the forests of Assam has been a subject of much curiosity and collection of such germplasm would greatly assist research on plant improvement by the scientists.