RANUNCULACE^-CROWFOOT FAMILY 



The plants of this group are principally herbs with an acrid 

 watery juice; not distinguished by any one or two particular 

 marks, but on the whole indicated by having numerous stamens, 

 usually more than one pistil; all the parts of the flower distinct 

 and all inserted on the receptacle. The calyx is often colored like 

 a corolla, when the latter is wanting. 



The principal garden representatives are Peony,- Clematis, 

 Larkspur, Monkshood, Columbine, Anemone, Hepatica, Adonis, 

 Buttercup, Trollius, Hellebore, Nigella, and Thalictrum. 



PEONY 



Padnia hybrida. 



Pceonia is the ancient Greek name of the genus accepted by the 

 Romans and by us. The Chinese name, Hoa Ouang, signifies the 

 King of Flowers. The German Gichtrose means gouty rose. 

 The Spaniards call it the Rose of the Mountain. Moutan is the 

 Chinese for the woody species. Paonia is referred by Pliny to 

 Paeon, the physician, who healed Pluto of the wound inflicted by 

 Hercules. A less poetical explanation is that the word is derived 

 from Pjeonia, a mountainous country of Macedonia where some 

 of the species grow wild. 



A garden race of magnificent blooming perennials whose primitive 

 forms have been in cultivation in Asia and in Europe for thousands 

 of years. May, June. 



Root. — Fleshy,- thickens to form upright rootstocks. 

 Stem. — Stout, two to three feet high. 



Flowers. — Large, solitary, ranging from deep-red to pure-white, both 

 single and double. 



