60 



flora indtca. - [Dilleniacea 



Tribus V. VmoyiEM. 



Sepala persistentia, herbacea, aestivatione imbricata. Petala plana. 

 Anthem deinutn tortiles. Ovaria 2-5, multiovulata, disco carnoso 

 cincta. Folliculi totidera. Semina magna, albumine carnoso. 



20. PiEONIA, L. 



^ Sepala 5, persistentia, herbacea. Petala 5-10. Ovaria 2-5. Fol- 

 liculi ovati, polyspermi. Semina subglobosa. — Herbse erectce, foliis 

 pinnatim decompositis, floribus conspicuis solitariis purpureis vet albis. 



Natives of Europe and Northern Asia, and of North America west of the Rocky 

 Mountains, growing in mountain woods and pastures. The species have been much 

 cultivated, and floricultural botanists have devoted much labour to the discrimination 

 of many supposed species, chiefly of garden origin. Specimens in herbaria are often 

 very imperfect, but we observe that authors readily admit glabrous -leaved varieties 

 of the pubescent-leaved species (a character on which De Candolle divides the genus 

 into two sections), and that glabrous and densely tomentose fruited plants are not 

 considered specifically distinguishable. We are inclined to believe that all the erect- 

 fruited herbaceous forms belong to one species, as we can see no distinctions in the 

 shape of the leaves sufficient to distinguish from one another P. officinalis and P. 

 peregrina. We have not had an opportunity of seeing fruiting specimens of P. ano- 

 mala, L., the common Siberian species, which is un distinguishable in the herbarium 

 in a flowering state, hut is characterized by the spreading carpels. 



1. P. officinalis (L. Sp. 747); herbacea, foliis biternatim sectis, 

 foliolis incisis, lobis oblongis lanceolatisve aeutis, folliculis 1-3 erectis 

 tomentosis vel glabris. — DC. Syst. i. 339, Prod. i. 65. P. peregrina, 

 DC. Prod. i. 66. P. intermedia, C. A. Meyer in Led. PI. Alt. ii. 277 ; 

 Led. PI. Ross. i. 74. P. Emodi, Wall. Cat. 4727 ! Boyle! III. 57. 



Hab. In Himalaya occidentali temperata interior], alt. 5-10,000 

 ped.: a Kashmir! ad Kumaon ! — (Fl. Mai.) (v. v.) 



Distrib. Europa australis ! Sibiria Altaica ! 



Herba erecta, 1-2-pedalis, glabra. Folia 6-12-poll., subtus pallida, glabra vel 

 pubescentia. F lores albi rosei vel purpurei (in Indicis albi), extus braeteis 2-3 

 calyci adpressis foliaceis lanceolatis. Sepala ovalia vel rotuudata, 2-3 ext. apice in 

 appendicem foliaceam lanceolatam expansa. Discus parvus annularis ovaria cingcns. 



Ovaria dense tomentosa vel glabra. 



Himalayan specimens of this species are not distinguishable from those of Europe 

 and Siberia. The pubescence of the fruit is of no value as a character, for among 

 the few Indian specimens iu fruit before us, that of Jacquemont is quite glabrous, 

 while Major Madden's is densely strigose. 



II. DILLENIACEJE. 



Sepala 5, persistentia, sestivatione imbricata (quincuncialia), rarius 

 pluriserialia. Petala 5, decidua, sestivatione imbricata, unum saepe 

 exterius. Stamina hypogyna, pluriserialia, indefinite). Anthem basi- 

 fixae, introrsae vel laterales, rarius extrorsae, biloculares, longitudinaliter 



