Browns peony, also called wild peony and skookuinroot, is a robust, some- 

 what succulent, perennial herb of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). It 

 is the only species of Paeonia native to North America ; the well-known culti- 

 vated peonies of this same genus are of Asiatic and European origin. This 

 species was discovered in 1826 by David Douglas, a celebrated Scotch botanist 

 and explorer, near the confines of perpetual snow in the Blue Mountains of 

 Oregon. Douglas presumably named the plant in honor of Robert Brown 

 (1773-1858), an eminent British botanist. The generic name perpetuates that 

 of Apollo in his medical role of Paeon. 1 



Browns peony is distributed from British Columbia to Alberta and south to 

 Utah and California. In Oregon and Washington it occ.urs principally on the 

 east side of the Cascade Mountains, but it extends down the California coast 

 to the southern part of the State, as well as inland in the mountains to the 

 southern Sierras. Although rather common in the Pacific States and in parts 

 of Idaho'and Nevada, this species is extremely rare in Utah. This plant grows 

 through a wide range of habitat conditions, varying from the dry hot plains 

 to the cool, moist slopes near the areas of perpetual snow. It ranges from a few 

 hundred feet above sea level to elevations of over 8,000 feet. Browns peony is 

 most typically found on well-drained sites, usually in mixed grass and weed 

 types, but it sometimes appears in sagebrush areas, brushy hillsides, or under 

 open stands of aspen or coniferous timber. 



Browns peony generally grows in scattered clumps and seldom, if ever, 

 occurs in pure stands. Unfortunately it ordinarily comprises but a small part 

 of the plant cover. This species starts growth early in the season, customarily 

 being among the first of the flowering plants to appear in the spring. In 

 southern California, it often blooms in January, or even earlier, and is known 

 locally as Christmas-rose. The succulent leafage usually matures early, becom- 

 ing dry, brittle, and worthless for forage before the close of the summer grazing 

 season. Consequently, this plant is of most value for forage where it occurs on 

 ranges grazed in the spring and early summer. The succulent herbage is 

 usually eaten with great relish by sheep 2 but cattle graze it only lightly. 



This plant varies somewhat in palatability, however, as on some ranges it is 

 rated as only fair for sheep and worthless for cattle, and some observers even 

 report that it is never grazed at all in their localities. Browns peony is 

 apparently unable to withstand close cropping for many consecutive seasons. 



In preliminary range reseeding trials on the Wasatch Plateau in central 

 Utah, 3 Browns peony became established from the original seeding but failed to 

 reproduce. This plant has been reported locally from northern California as 

 being under suspicion of poisoning sheep, and the leaves are sometimes reputed 

 locally to be poisonous to the touch. However, there is no scientific evidence, 

 whatever, to support these suppositions ; in fact, the extensive grazing use of 

 this plant over wide areas seems amply to demonstrate that it is not only 

 harmless, but is actually a good sheep forage. The thick roots of Browns 

 peony have been used medicinally by the Spanish-Californians as a dyspepsia 

 remedy. They have also been used by the Indians in doctoring colds, sore 

 throat, and to give their horses long wind. In certain sections of the West the 

 old settlers prized it as a cure for rheumatism. 



The flowers of this herb are large, thick, and leathery in texture, but rather 

 inconspicuous because the dull brownish red petals soon fall off. Moreover, the 

 petals extend but slightly beyond the sepals, which are usually of the same 

 greenish hue as the foliage. The flowers are often fragrant, but the leaves 

 and stems have a peculiar odor. The stems are erect when young but droop as 

 they mature until the seed pods finally rest upon the ground. Ants and possibly 

 other insects manifest a peculiar liking for the tissues of this plant and 

 sometimes destroy the flowers and honeycomb the leaves. 



1 Skinner, C. M. MYTHS AND LEGENDS OP FLOWERS, TREES, FRUITS, AND PLANTS IN ALL 

 AGES AND IN ALL CLIMES. [302] pp., illus. Philadelphia and London. [1925.] 



2 Sampson, A. W. NATIVE AMERICAN FORAGE PLANTS. 435 pp., illus. New York. 

 1924. 



3 Forsling C L., and Dayton, W. A. ARTIFICIAL RESEEDING ON AVESTERN MOUNTAIN 

 RANGE LANDS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Circ. 178, 48 pp., illus. 1931. 



