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fmoothnefs of the germs ; and 6. in having the root and 
herb more infipid. It alfo flowers later. Native of Sibe¬ 
ria ; well known among the Daurians and Mongols, on 
account of the root, which they boil in their broth, and 
the feeds, which they grind and put into their tea : they 
call the plant dj’china ; in Ruffian it is marjin koren bjelyi. 
Of this fpecies Mefirs. Anderfon and Sabine, in the 
Linn. Tranf. vol. xii. and the Hort. Tranf. vol. ii. have 
defcribed feveral varieties. 
a. P. veftalis. This variety, obtained by Mr. Sabine 
from Mefirs Lee and Kennedy under the name of albi- 
fiora, perhaps more common among our gardens than any 
other, is to be diftinguifhed by its white eight-petalous 
corolla, rarely and llightly tinged with pink at the bafe. 
Cymes of two or three flowers 5 the middle flower is the 
ftrongeft, the earlieft, and always the fhorteft. This ob- 
fervation indeed applies to molt of the fpecies. Leaves 
broader, more flat and fhining : and thefe and the Item, 
together with the petioles, are altogether of a darker 
hue than moll of the others. The ftigmas are of a dull 
yellow. 
/ 3 . P. Candida. Mr. Sabine found this variety at Mr. 
Knight’s nurfery, in the King’s Road, Chelfea. He 
had it from the Liverpool botanic garden under the name 
of Jibirica; but it is not the plant which generally gets 
that name; and it differs from the foregoing in having 
its leaves and ftalks lefs of a purple hue, in its difpoli- 
tion to have fewer flowers on the cyme, and in the ftig- 
mas being flefh-coloured inftead of yellow. The plant, 
too, feems weaker. The flowers of this as well as the fore¬ 
going go off white (a florift’s term); but this has rather 
a greater dalh of pink in its opening corolla. 
•y. P. Tatarica. Mr. Sabine got this variety from Mr. 
Biggs, who cultivated it in the botanic garden of the 
late Mr. Swainfon of Twickenham. Another plant of 
the fame was prefen ted to him by the late fir Jofeph 
Banks, whofe hands were always extended to promote 
objefts of fcience. The original, we believe, was im¬ 
ported by the late Mr. Bell of Brentford, to whom we 
are indebted for the introduction of feveral pasonies, by 
means of his correfpondence with Pallas. It came from 
Tartary. Its hue, though darker, a good deal refembles 
that of vpftalis; but its flowers are larger, with a greater 
number of petals, which retain a pale pink colour till 
they drop. The ftigmas are of a pink colour, like thofe 
of Candida. 
£. P. Sibirica. Raifed from feed by Mefirs. Loddiges 
and fons, and faid to come from Siberia through Pallas. 
Leaves yellowifh-green, and flowers quite white even in 
the bud ; is altogether divefted of that purple tint in the 
ftalks, leaves, and germens, fo obfervable generally in this 
fpecies. It alfo bears the largeft flowers. 
s. P. rubelcens. This plant was purchafed by Mr. 
Ronalds, nurferyman, of Brentford, at the fide of the 
late Mr. Bell’s collection. Sir Abraham Hume has the 
fame plant, and we believe from the fame fource, under 
the name of Tatarica. This is the moft diminutive variety, 
and with flowers of the darkeft colour. The leaves are 
fmall, obtufe, concave or channelled on the upper furface. 
£. P. uniflora. Mefirs Loddiges had feeds of this plant 
from Pallas. It is to be diftinguifhed from the other va¬ 
rieties by the narrownefs of its leaves, and a difpofition* 
to produce only one flower on the ftalk ; in this particu¬ 
lar, however, we doubt its conftancy. The petals are 
white, flightly tinged with pink at their bafe; ftigmas 
dull-yellow. 
si. P. Whitleji. This beautiful plant was imported in 
1808 from China by Mr. Whitley, nurferyman, of Ful¬ 
ham. The Items are full three feet high ; leaves rugofe, 
and lefs Alining than is ufual in the fpecies ; flowers full 
double, having the outfide petals reddifii, and the infide 
ones pale ftraw-coloured, the whole becoming nearly 
•white before they drop off, emitting a fcent fomewhat 
like that of elder-flowers. It flowers about the middle 
Q.f June. 
N I A. 
9 . P. Humei. Introduced by fir Abraham Hume, bart. 
from China, through the means of captain Welded, in 
1810. The largeft of all the herbaceous pasonies, the 
Items fometimes exceeding four feet in height; flowers 
extremely double, reddifli in colour, fomewhat fimilar to 
the following, but larger and almoft fcentlefs. Cymes 
commonly of three flowers ; leaflets broader than any 
other of the fpecies, much pitted, and rugofe. 
». P. fragrans. Introduced from China in 1805 by fir 
Jofeph Banks. This variety is confpicuous in its upright 
flender ftalks, leaves more pale and narrower than thofe 
of the other tw'o double ones, fcabrous, and obfoletely- 
ferrated on the margin. It flowers the latterend of June, 
the lateft of all the pasonies, of a pale rofe-colour, giv¬ 
ing out an agreeable fcent fimilar to that of the rofe. 
The central petals are longer than the others, and ereft. 
Thefe varieties are hinted at by Loureiro in his Flora 
Cochinenfts. He ftates that the pasony is found both 
wild and cultivated over all the Chinefe empire, chiefly in 
the northern provinces; and concludes, “Sunt alire 
multae varietates (fortafie fpecies) quas non vidi.” We 
may look for an increafe to our acquifitions from that 
quarter. 
2. Pasonia officinalis, or common peony: leaves dou- 
bly-pinnate, fublobed : leaflets oblong, veined under¬ 
neath. (See Botany Plate VI. fig. 8.) The roots of the 
common or female peony are coinpofed of feveral round- 
ifh thick knobs or tubers, which hang below each other, 
faftened with firings: the ftalks are green, about two feet 
and a half high ; the leaves are coinpofed of feveral un¬ 
equal lobes, which are varioufly cut into many fegments ; 
they are of a paler green than thofe of the male peony, 
and are hairy on their under fide; the flowers are fmaller, 
and of a deeper purple colour. According to Haller, the 
root is glandular; the leaves firm, fhining, pinnate, with 
the pinnas pinnate in two pairs, and an odd one at the 
end ; the pinnules ovate-lanceolate, alfo half-lobed and 
half three-iobed, confluent with the middle nerve. Stem 
a foot high, branched. According to Scopoli, the leaves 
are decompound; the leaflets lanceolate, acuminate..fef- 
file, decurrent, lobed, and Ample. 
This is certainly the Trononx or female pasony, 
of Diofcorides, fo named, of courfe, without any idea 
of the real fexual diftinftions in the parts of fru< 5 lifica- 
tion. He celebrates it as ufeful in promoting natural 
difcharges when deficient, and reftraining fome of them 
when too abundant. The flavour of the root is acrid, 
bitter, and foetid, and its qualities are reported to be nar¬ 
cotic and dangerous, which we can readily believe. 
Native of feveral parts of Europe, as Swifleriand, 
Dauphine, Carniola, Piedmont, Silefia; alfo of Mount 
Ida, China, and Japan. It was cultivated here in 1562, 
according to Turner. 
Several varieties of the female paeony with double 
flowers, differing in fize and colour, are cultivated in the 
Englifh gardens. Thefe plants alfo vary much in diffe¬ 
rent countries. Pallas informs us that the native plant 
of Mount Caucafus differs confiderably from that which 
is cultivated in gardens. Loureiro mentions fome varie¬ 
ties in China, and fays that there are many others. Such 
as are well-defined, and worth notice, are now treated 
as diftindt fpecies, which has increafed the number from 
five to eleven ; and the farther additions which have been 
made to this genus in the Linn. Tranf. vol. xii. have aug¬ 
mented them to fourteen. We fhall here notice the va¬ 
rieties of this (female) fpecies, as fetdownin the volume 
referred to. 
a. P. Sabini. A few years ago no perfon knew that a 
plant of the fingle-flowered P. officinalis exifted in this 
country. Mr. Sabine had the good fortune to difcover 
one in the corner of an old garden at Great Berkhamp- 
ftead in Hertfordfhire, where it poffibly had remained 
undifturbed many years. The flowers are precifely of the 
fame colour with thofe of the common double-red, but 
the petals expand a few days earlier. The leaves are lefs 
waved. 
