Calciphytoliths (calcium oxalate crystals) analysis for the identification of decayed tea plants (Camellia sinensis L.)

The history of tea is poorly known, mainly due to the questionable identification of decayed tea plants in archaeological samples. This paper attempts to test the utility of calciphytoliths (calcium oxalate crystals) for the identification of tea in archaeological samples. It provides the first survey of the macropatterns of calciphytoliths in several species of Theaceae and common non-Theaceae plants. Crystals were extracted from 45 samples of tea, Theaceae and common non-Theaceae plants and detected microscopically between crossed polarizers. In tea plants, druse and trichome base are the most distinctive crystals. Druses have the smallest diameter (11.65 ± 3.64 μm) and trichome bases have four distinctive straight and regular cracks, similar to a regular extinction cross. The results provide morphological criteria for distinguishing tea from other plants, specifically the presence of identifiable druses together with calcified trichome bases. The implications are significant for understanding the history of tea and plant exploitation, especially for plants for which the preservation of macrofossils is poor.