4 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Faederia 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. fcetida (stinking). Chinese Fever Plant, ft. deep pink, nume- 

 rous ; panicles axillary, opposite, short, rarely terminal. May. 

 fr. broadly elliptic, compressed, polished. I. oblong or lanceolate, 

 cordate at the base. Tropical Asia, &c., 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. 



P.ZED!EI&OTA (from Paideros, a name applied by the 

 ancients to a species of Acanthus). OED. Scrophularinece. 

 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. Ageria (Ageria). Jl. yellow; corolla nearly Jin. long, with 

 erect segments ; spikes short, compact. May. I. all acute ; 

 lower ones ovate ; middle ones liin. long, almost lin. broad ; 

 upper ones longer and narrower-lanceolate, cut-serrate, h. 6in. 

 to!2in. 1824. Plant puberulous. 



P. Bonarota (Bonarota). /. blue ; corolla &in. long, with some- 

 what spreading segments; spikes compact, globose or oblong, 

 lin. to liin. long. May. I., lower ones orbiculate ; upper ones 

 ovate or lanceolate, serrated or cut. h. 4in. to 6in. 1818. Plant 

 pilose. (J. F. A. app. 39.) 



FJEONIA (the old Greek name used by Theo- 

 phrastus, and said to be so named after the physician 

 Paeon, who was the first to employ the plant medi- 

 cinally). Pseony, Peony, or Piony. ORD. Ranunculacece. 

 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; 

 petals five to ten, conspicuous, broad, not pitted. 



FIG. 1. FOLLICLES OF P^ONIA. 



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 eub-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 arc the boat 



Faeonia continued . 



known, there is red in every shade, from crimson 

 graduating down to pink, and also pure white. 

 Doubling may take place in any species to a greater 

 or lesser extent by petalody of the very numerous 

 stamens. In flowers so large as Peonies, these changes 

 are very conspicuous. The following is the best 

 classification and enumeration of the forms which I 

 am able to give ; but Pceonia, 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 



Sub-genus I. Shrubby. 



Disk enveloping the base of the carpels. 

 P. Moutan. 



Sub-genus II. Herbaceous. 



Disk not produced to envelop the base of the carpels. 



GROUP 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 tomentoso, spreading stellately when 



mature. 



P. arietina, P. Broteri, P. corallina, P. cretica, P. decora, P. Russi, 

 P. triternata (P. daurica)." 



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, &c., is necessary, 

 during frosty weather, in spring. In some places in the 

 north of England, no shelter is needed. The species do- 

 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 

 Paaonies in general cultivation, both of which are ex- 

 ceedingly ornamental and useful for outdoor garden 

 decoration. The Montan, or Tree, Paeony 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 Paeony, the representatives of 

 which annually form flower-stems that also die down 

 each year. Paeonies 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 dosired. Tree, or Moutan, Paeonies 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 Paeonies 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 

 Piconios may also be grown in pots for flowering under 



