also: さんざか · さんさか · さんちゃか
sasanqua; Camellia sasanqua
A flowering evergreen shrub native to Japan, blooming in autumn and winter. Often planted in gardens and parks.
Sasanqua are blooming in the garden.
Sasanqua resemble camellias, but their petals fall one by one.
Katakana spelling is common for this plant name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is rare and may be read as さんさか or さんちゃか by some; the standard reading is さざんか.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
The Japanese name サザンカ is believed to derive from the Chinese reading of 山茶花 (shān chá huā), but the exact phonetic shift is uncertain.