Organic Tea in Mucha

In January of 2010, I spent a lovely afternoon with two friends hiking around the Mucha (木柵) area of Northern Taiwan. During the hike I was delighted to see many small tea farms growing organic tea. I also saw a great mix of native plants, bamboo, herbs, trees and shrubs in the area.

Wild areas near the trail.

Newly transplanted bamboo.

A newly planted grove of tall bamboo.

Strolling among the tea bushes.

Nitrogen fixing cover crop sown between rows.

This plant looked different from the others and had recently endured quite a bit of nibbling. The flower is bigger and fancier too. Perhaps this is more of an ornamental tea plant?

This is a much more traditional looking tea flower in my experience.

Spiders webs are wonderful things to see among healthy tea plants.