- 
3 
- THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Pæderia continued. 
ternately whorled, membranous, petiolate. The under- 
mentioned species (the only one yet introduced) thrives 
in a compost of sandy loam and leaf mould. Propa- 
gated, in summer, by cuttings, inserted in sand, under 
a glass. : 
P. foetida (stinking). Chinese Fever Plant. fl. deep pink, nume- 
rous ; panicles axillary, opposite, short, rarely terminal. May. 
fr. broadly elliptic, compressed, polished, l. oblong or lanceolate, 
cordate at the base. Tropical Asia, &., 1806. All parts of 
this plant emit a most offensive odour when bruised ; the stems 
yield a tough, fine fibre, and the Hindoos use the roots as an 
emetic. 
PHEDEROTA (from Paideros, a name applied by the 
ancients to a species of Acanthus). ORD. Scrophularinee. 
A genus comprising only a couple of species of pretty, 
dwarf, hardy, perennial herbs, inhabiting the mountains 
of Central and Eastern Europe. Flowers yellow or blue, 
alternate, very shortly pedicellate, disposed in dense, 
terminal spikes; calyx of five narrow segments; corolla 
with a cylindrical tube and a sub-bilabiate limb, the 
upper lobe of which is entire, and the lower one three- 
parted. Leaves opposite, toothed or incised. The species, 
which are usually treated as annuals by gardeners, re- 
quire a dry, airy situation, and a light sandy soil, or a 
compost of equal parts peat, loam, and sand. Increased 
by seeds. ' 
P. eria (Ageria). fl. yellow; corolla nearly jin. long, with 
erect segments; spikes short, compact. May. . all acute; 
lower ones ovate; middle ones 1šin. long, almost lin. broad; 
upper ones longer and narrower-lanceolate, cut-serrate. h. 6in. 
to 12in. 1824. Plant puberulous. 
P. Bonarota (Bonarota). fl. blue; corolla zin. long, with some- 
what ie segments; spikes compact, globose or oblong, 
lin, to Izin. long. May. l., lower ones orbiculate ; upper ones 
ovate or lanceolate, serrated or cut. I. din. to bin. 1818. Plant 
pilose. (J. F. A. app. 39.) 
PÆONIA (the old Greek name used by Theo- 
phrastus, and said to be so named after the physician 
Peon, who was the first to employ the plant medi- 
cinally). Prony, Peony, or Piony. ORD. Ranunculacee. 
A well-known genus of mostly hardy herbs, with a root- 
like, perennial caudex, or a branched, more or less 
woody stem; they are natives of Europe or temperate 
Asia, North-west America, and China. Flowers purple, 
white, or red, showy; sepals five, herbaceous, persistent ; 
conspicuous, 
petals five to 
ten, broad, not pitted. 
Fic. 1. FOLLICLES OF Ponta, 
Carpels two to five; follicles dehiscent (see Fig. 1); 
seeds large, with fleshy albumen. Leaves alternate, 
ample, pinnately dissected or decompound. Mr. Baker, 
in the opening remarks of his admirable synopsis of the 
genus, which appeared in the ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle” 
for 1884, says: ‘To-day we know about two dozen that 
may be considered as botanical species or sub-species. 
Under each of these, if brought into cultivation, there is 
scope for a large number of varieties, distinct from a 
horticultural point of view. Probably, each would vary 
widely in the colouring of the flower. In P. Moutan 
P. albiflora, and P. officinalis, which are the hest 
graduating down to pink, and also 
. Doubling may take place in any species to a greater 
or lesser extent by petalody of the very numerous 
Peonia—continued. 
known, there is red in every shade, from crimson 
pure white. 
stamens. In flowers so large as Ponies, these changes 
are very conspicuous. The following is the best 
classification and enumeration of the forms which I 
am able to give; but Peonia, like its neighbours, 
Aquilegia, Aconitum, and Delphinium, is what botanists 
call a critical genus, and the leading specific types 
are linked together by many intermediate connecting 
stages: 
Sub-genus I. Shrubby. 
Disk enveloping the base of the carpels. 
Sub-genus II. Herbaceous, 
Disk not produced to envélop the base of the carpels. 
GROU I. Follicles glabrous. 
P. albiflora, P. Brownii, P. Cambessedesii, P. coriacea, P. humilis, 
P. leiocarpa, P. microcarpa, P. obovata, P. Wittmanniana. 
GROUP II. Follicles tomentose, erect or slightly spreading. 
P. anomala, P. Emodi, P. lobata, P. mollis, P. officinalis, P. para- 
doxa, P. peregrina, P. tenuifolia. 
Group III. Follicles tomentose, spreading stellately when 
mature. 
P. Moutan. 
P. arietina, P. Broteri, P. corallina, P. cretica, P. decora, P. Russi, 
P. triternata (P. dauriea).” 
All the species described here may be looked upon as 
hardy in Britain. In the South of England, P. Moutan is 
apt to commence growth too early, and its young shoots 
are frequently damaged by frosts. To obviate this, light 
shelter, such as that afforded by a mat, &., is necessary, 
during -frosty weather, in spring. In some places in the 
north of England, no shelter is needed. The species de- 
scribed below are those which are, or have been, grown 
in this country; the names of the principal varieties 
are appended. 
Cultivation. There are two distinct sections of 
Pæonies in general cultivation, both of which are ex- 
ceedingly ornamental and useful for outdoor garden 
decoration. The Moutan, or Tree, Peony is a sub- 
shrubby plant, and all the numerous varieties belonging 
to it are classed under its name. The other section is 
that of the Herbaceous Pœony, the representatives of 
which annually form flower-stems that also die down 
each year. Ponies of any sort prefer a rich, deep soil, 
which should be well trenched previous to planting, and 
have some rotten manure incorporated. A top-dressing 
of the latter should also be given, and manure-water 
in summer is beneficial when growth is being made. 
Herbaceous varieties succeed in almost any position, 
and, when in flower, are very effective and showy 
subjects wherever employed. On this account, they are 
specially recommended for the front part of large 
shrubberies and plantations, and for wide, mixed 
borders; they may also be planted in beds by them- 
selves, preferably in positions where an effect from a 
distance is that desired. Tree, or Moutan, Ponies very 
frequently suffer outside from the effects of spring 
frosts on the tender shoots. By affording too much 
shelter during winter, this result has, at times, been 
encouraged by the plants being rendered more tender 
than they otherwise would be. Tree Pmonies do not 
succeed, or flower so well, in this country as on the 
Continent; the hotter summers of the latter being more 
favourable to their proper ripening, and early spring 
frosts being less destructive. A partially-sheltered 
situation should be selected for the plants of this 
section, on a lawn where some temporary covering can 
be used in spring. A mulching of manure over the 
surface soil in summer is of great help, by affording 
nutriment, and also preventing evaporation. Tree 
Ponies may also be grown in pots for flowering under 
