A. Plants shrubby : disk enveloping the 



base of the carpels 1. Moutan 



AA. Plants herbaceous: disk not produced 



to envelop the base of the carpels. 

 B. Petals short and leathery, scarcely 



exceeding the sepals 2. Brownii 



BB. Petals not leathery, large and ex- 

 panding, much exceeding the 

 sepals. 



o. Follicles and plant quite gla- 

 brous 3. albiflora 



CO. Follicles tomentose, er&ct or 



slightly spreading. 

 D. Lvs. and stem glabrous through- 

 out. 



E. Lfts. finely dissected 4. tenuifolia 



5. anomala 



BE. Lfts. not so finely divided. . 6. officinalis 

 DD. Lvs. and stem pubescent in 



the upper part. 

 E. Middle lobe of terminal Ift. 



trifid 7 



8 



decora 



peregrrina 



paradoxa 



EE. Middle lobe of terminal Ift. 



rarely bifid, never trifid.. 10. arietina 



1. Moutan, Sims (P. arborea, Donn). TREE PEONY. 

 Stem 3-6 ft. or even higher if not cut back, much 

 branched: Ivs. glabrous; Ifts. more often entire at the 

 base of the plant than above: fls. as in P. officinalis, 

 but various in color : follicles numerous, very hairy, 

 rather small. May, June. China. Long cult, there, 

 where varieties are numbered by the hundreds. Var. 

 rubra-plena, Hort. Rose-colored, almost single. L.B.C. 

 11:1035. Var. rosea-superba, Hort. Fls. much more 

 doubled. Gn. 31:580 (as Reine Elizabeth). F.S. 

 14:1395-6 (Triomphe de Grand). Var. vittata, Hort. 

 Fls. single, white, rose and flesh color, striped, fragrant. 

 F.S. 7:747. Var. papaveracea, Andr. Petals thin and 

 poppy-like, white, with red at center of flower. L.B.C. 

 6:547. Gn. 38:775; 52:1141, and pp. 324, 325. Var. 

 Banksii, Andr. Fls. much doubled, rose-colored, and 

 large. B.M. 1154. 



2. Brdwnii, Dougl. (P. Califdrnica, Torr. & Gray). 

 Low: Ivs. glaucous or pale, lobes obovate to nearly lin- 

 ear: fls. dull brownish red; petals 5 or 6, thickish, little 

 longer than the concave sepals ; outer sepals often leaf- 

 like and compound; flower-stem reclining or recurved; 

 disk many-lobed : follicles 4-5, nearly straight, gla- 

 brous; seeds oblong. Early spring or summer. Pacific 

 states. B.R. 25:30. 



3. albifldra, Pallas (P. 6dulis, Salisb.). Figs. 1616, 

 1617. Stem 2-3 ft., often branching and bearing from 

 2-5 fls. : Ifts. 3-4 in. long, oblong, deeper green than P. 

 Brownii, veiningred: peduncle longer than in P. offi- 

 cinalis, often with a large simple bract: outer sepals 

 large, leaf -like: petals large, various in color, usually 

 white or pink : follicles often 3-4, ovoid, with spiral 



P/EOXIA 



stigmas. June. Siberia. B.M. 1756. F.S. 8:812. Gn. 

 30:576 (var. Adrian); 50, p. 170; 51:1123. 



Var. Reevesiana, Loud. (P. fieevesii, Hort.). A 

 double form, with deep red petals. P.M. 1:197. 



Var. Sinensis, Steud. (P. Chinensis, Vilni.). A tall 

 Chinese variety, with large, double, crimson flowers. 

 One of the commonest forms in gardens. B.M. 1768. 



Var. festiva, Planchon. Fls. double, white, with a few 

 marks of carmine in the center. F.S. 8:790. 



4. tenuifolia, Linn. Fig. 1618. Stem 1-1% ft. high, 

 1-headed, densely leafy up to the flower: Ivs. cut into 

 numerous segments, often less than 1 line broad: fl. 

 erect ; petals dark crimson, elliptic-cuneate, 1-1 % in. 

 long; anthers shorter than the filaments; stigma red, 

 spirally recurved : follicles 2-3, about K in. long. June. 

 Caucasus region. B.M. 926. A.G. 17, p. 658. Var. flore- 

 pleno, Hort. Fls. dense, double, crimson. F.S. 4:308. 

 Var. hybrida, Hort. Fls. rich crimson: Ivs. very pretty. 



5. andmala, Linn. As tall as P. officinalis, glabrous: 

 Ivs. cut into numerous, confluent, lanceolate, acute seg- 

 ments : fl. solitary, single, bright crimson, very large; 

 outer sepals often produced into compound leafy 

 points; petals obovate to oblong: follicles 3-5, ovoid, ar- 

 cuate, tomentose or glabrous. Eu. and Asia. B.M. 1754. 



Var. insignis, Lynch. This is the variety of the above 

 which is most cult. Stems 1K-2 ft. high: Ivs. about 10, 

 the lower ones very large, gradually reducing to the fl. : 

 carpels with red pubescence. The name Peter Barr is 

 given to a form of this in which the Ivs. do not so grad- 

 ually reduce to the flower. 



Var. intermedia, C. A. Meyer. Lvs. deeply lobed: fls. 

 rosy crimson. 



6. officinalis, Linn. (P. fulgida, Sabine). Fig. 1619. 

 Stem stout, 2-3 ft. high, 1-headed: Ivs. dark above, pale 

 beneath, the lowest more divided than the others, hav- 

 ing 15-20 oblong-lanceolate Ifts., 1 in. or more broad; 

 outer sepals leaf -like: petals dark crimson, l%-2 in. 

 broad, obovate : stigmas crimson, recurved : follicles 

 2-3, becoming 1 in. long. May, June. Europe. One of 

 the commonest in gardens. B.M. 1784; 2264 (as P. pu- 

 bens). Gn. 53, p. 233. 



1617. Paeonia albiflora. 



Var. alba-plena, Hort. Fls. double, white, tinged 

 with red. Gn. 19:265. Garden forms are given trade 

 names, as : rosea maxima, rosea pallida, rubra, and 

 many others. These vary in color from nearly pure 

 white to pink and beautiful shades of red. 



