The article studies the genesis of one of the most "new" literary florograces of French literature of the 19th century - Camellia. Two main sources of the appearance of this image are analyzed: the novels of O. de Balzac "The Lost Illusions" and "Beatrice" and the novel by A. Duma-son "The Lady with the Camellias". The issue of the influence of this image on the poetry of the French "Parnassus" and French and Belgian symbolism, Russian literature of the second half of the 19th century, and also on theatrical performances is also being considered.