Paeonia RANUNCULACEAE Ranunculus 



sepals 5; petals and stamens indefinite; carpels 2-5, becoming follicles. 35 species, 

 in the northern hemisphere; 5 or more in China. (The Latin name, said to com- 

 memorate a physician, Paeon.) 



Key to the Species 



Stems herbaceous : follicles not tomentose 1 • P. lactiflora 



Stems woody : follicles densely hairy 2 . P. suffruticosa 



1. Paeonia lactiflora Pall. Sffjg (Shao Yao) (B.M.406). Bushy herb, to lm.; fls. 

 red, V. Siberia, China, Japan; locally in Ku. Cultivated, ornamental. 



2. Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. Tree Peony $fcfl- (Mu Tan; Male Red) (R.M.204). 

 Woody at base, to 1 m. ; fr. VII-VIII. Northwest China; locally in Ku. Cul- 

 tivated, ornamental. Fig. 105. 



3. Anemone Linn. Windflower S3IHM (Pai T'ou Weng 

 Shu; Hoary-headed-old-man Genus) 



Perennial herbs: stem lvs. forming an involucre which may resemble a calyx or 

 may be remote from the fls.: peduncles 1-fld., solitary or in umbels; perianth 

 petaloid; petals none; carpels becoming achenes. About 90 species, in temperate and 

 cold regions; about 20 in China. (The Greek name, modified from Na'man, the 

 Semitic name for Adonis, from whose blood a crimson-fld. species of the Orient is 

 said to have sprung.) 



Key to the Species 



Plants densely silky-hairy: styles 4-8 dm. long in fr., filiform, tomentose. 1. A. chinensis 



Plants glabrous or pubescent : styles not filiform or plumose. 



Fls. 1-3 cm. across, usually with 4-7 perianth segments 2. A. flaccida 



Fls. 4-8 cm. across, with numerous perianth segments 3. A. hupehensis 



1. Anemone chinensis Bunge ^flft (Mao T'ou Hua; Hairy-headed Flower) (Mak. 

 F.562). Herb, 2-4 dm. high; fls. violet, III-IV; fr. V; styles persistent, plumose. 

 China; locally in An., Ki., Ku. Open grassland. Fig. 106. 



2. Anemone flaccida F. Schmidt $&%.# (E Chang Ts'ao; Goose-foot Herb) (Mak.F. 

 559). Slender herb, 1-2 dm. high; fls. white, IV, small. Northeastern Asia; 

 locally in Ku. Moist places. 



3. Anemone hupehensis Lem. $X*tft (Ch'iu Mu Tan; Autumn Peony) (B.M.397). 

 Brg. herb, to lm.; fls. red, VIII-X; plants tall. China; locally in An., Che., 

 Ki., Ku. Mixed woods. 



4. Ranunculus Linn. Buttercup ^^M (Mao Ken Shu) 

 Herbs with alternate lvs.: fls. usually yellow, though sometimes white or red; 

 sepals deciduous; petals present, with a nectariferous pit and scale at the base; 

 carpels many, becoming a head-like cluster of achenes. About 300 species, widely 

 distributed in temperate and cold regions; 40 in China. (The diminutive of the Latin 

 term rana, frog, referring to the fact that many species grow in marshes where 

 frogs are abundant.) 



Key to the Species 

 a. Petals white: plant submersed, except the fls.: lvs. finely dissected. 1. R. aquatilis 

 aa. Petals yellow : plants not submersed, 

 b. Plants entirely glabrous. 



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