Abstract:In order to understand the quantitative inheritance of leaf color of tea (Camellia sinesis) spring shoots, the numerical taxonomy of leaf color phenotypes of 68 tea cultivars was studied by using colorimeter. Based on hierarchical cluster from the values of L*, a*, b*, C, and H of the first leaf, the tea cultivars could be divided into seven groups, such as purple, yellow, and green, et al. The color classification by hierarchical cluster had high identity to the CIELab system, which had close relation to the color phenotypes of tea cultivars. The leaf color phenotypes were rich with a zonal distribution at 3D coordinate of L*, a*, b* values, ranging from purple, purple-red and purple-green to yellow, yellow-green and green. Therefore, the numerical taxonomy of leaf color would provide a scientific basis for breeding special color of tea bud-leaf.