THE BOOK OF THE PEONY 



In preparing the Main List, which is in- 

 tended to be a guide and not an exhaustive study 

 of each flower, the descriptions have been made 

 as simple and untechnical as is practical. Brief 

 explanations as to a few botanical terms, " types," 

 colours and fragrance will, nevertheless, be 

 necessary. 



Types 

 In the process of development from the original 

 single type, the herbaceous peony has acquired 

 certain forms or types which have been classified 

 and named " bomb," " crown," " rose," etc., the 

 full descriptions of which I set out below. The 

 stamens — ^the fertilising organs of flowering 

 plants, consisting of (a) filaments or supports, 

 and (b) anthers or double sacs filled with pollen 

 — ^have in some types of the peony broadened 

 and thickened into additional petals called stami- 

 nodes. Likewise the carpels — the seed-bearing 

 organs — ^have developed into petals called car- 

 pelodes. For brevity and convenience staminodes 

 and carpelodes are usually called petaloids. The 

 words staminodes, carpelodes and petaloids are 

 all used in describing types. When the word 



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