Book  (2010)  Page(s) 31.  
 
We often found P. obovata and P. mairei plants with single stems...

Book  (2010)  Page(s) 190-193.  Includes photo(s).
 
Paeonia mairei H. Lév., Bull. cad. Int. Géogr. Bot. 25: 42 (1915)....
Paeonia bifurcata Schipz., Bot Mater. Gerb. Glavn. Bot. Sada RSFSR 1(7) 3 (1920)...
Paeonia oxypetala Hand.-Mazz., Acad. Wissenschaften Wien 57: 265 (1920)...
Perennials up to 1 m tall. Roots tick, carrot-shaped. Caudex (rhizomes) c. 2 cm in diameter, up to 15 cm long. Stems single, simple, glabrous. Lower leaves biternate, with some leaflets segmented; leaflets/leaf segments 13-24, but mostly 14-17 in number, oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 6-16.5 cm long, 1.8-7 cm wide, glabrous, cuneate at the base, usually acuminate or even caudate at the apex. Flowers solitary, terminal; involucrate bracts 1-3 in number, leaf-like or linear; sepals 3-5 in number, green, broadly ovate, all rounded or sometimes one caudate at the apex, 1-1.5 cm long, 0.9-1.2 cm wide; petals 7-9 in number, pink to red, obovate, 3.5-7 cm long, 2-4.5 cm wide, usually rounded at the apex; filaments purple-red; anthers yellow; disk yellow, annular c. 1 mm high; carpels 2-3, rarely 1 in number, sparsely to densely yellow papillate to hispidulous, sometimes glabrous; styles up to 4 mm long; stigmas red, 1.2-1.5 mm wide. Follicles 3-3.5 cm long, 1-1.2 cm in diameter. Seeds black, oblong-spherical, 7-8 mm long, 4-5 mm in diameter....
Flowering in April and may; fruiting from August to September....2n = 20...Growing in deciduous broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 1,200-3,400 m, on limestones. In Chingqing, SE Gansu, W Hubei, S Shaanxi, C & S Sichuan, and NE Yunnan; endemic to China...
Paeonia mairei is a very distinct species with no close realtives evident. It is characterised by caudate-acuminate or acuminate leaflets/leaf segments, conspicious styles, single stems, and plants that are alwaays entirely glabrous except for the carpels. The presence of indumentum on the carpels is unique in the whole genus...

Book  (2005)  Page(s) 23.  
 
Tao Sang et al. (1997) believe that the ancestral species, Paeonia mairei, P. veitchii and P. lactiflora, were originally widespread in Eurasia but became confined to Asia during the coldest periods of the Pleistocene.

Book  (2005)  Page(s) 48-49.  
 
Paeonia mairei. This Chinese endemic was first discovered in 1913 by René Maire in Yunann and described by Léveillé in 1915. It grows in deciduous broadleaved forests in Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Shaanxi, Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces, at altitudes of 1500-2700 m (500-8700 ft.)...Paeonia mairei grows to a height of 1 m (3.3 ft.), with glabrous stems, and has up to 19 glabrous, elliptic, oblong-obovate or oblong-lanceolate leaflets, measuring 6.0-16.5 cm (2.5-6.5 in.) x 1.8-2.7 cm (0.7-2.8 in.) with caudate or acumniate tips. It has single, solitary pink or red flowers with yellow anthers, supported by purplish red filaments and 2-3 glabrous or tomentose carpels with short golden brown hairs and red styles. It is diploid (2N=10). plants flower from late April to late May (late spring).
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Paeonia mairei was originally far more widespread and may be the ancestor of several European species. However its descendants were far more adaptable and it became extinct in many parts of its range, eventually becoming restricted to Asia, where the climate was less extreme...It appears to be related to P. obovata and P. japonica. ...It gros best when protected from hot sunshine and needs well-drained, humus-rich soil.

Book  (2004)  Page(s) 28.  
 
Relatively narrow petals are found in P. mairei.

Book  (2004)  Page(s) 109-110, 113.  Includes photo(s).
 
p. 109: Figure 30. Leaves of Paeonia mairei...
p. 110: P. mairei Léveillé in Bulletin de geographie botanique (Le mans) 25:42 (1915).
P. bifurcata Schipczinski in Notulae systematicae ex herbario horti botanici petropolianae 1:3 (1920).
P. oxypetala Handel-Mazzetti in Anzeiger der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien 57:265 (1920).
P. mairei f. oxypetala (Handel-Mazzetti) Fang, Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 7 (4): 307 (1958).
Epithet: mairei, after René Charles Joseph Ernest Maire (1878-1949), a French botanist.
Description: Stem to 1 m (3 ft.) tall, glabrous. lower leaves biternate, sometimes with lateral leaflets bifurcate; leaflets elliptic or obovate-elliptic, cuneate to long-cuneate at the base, long-acuminate to caudate at the apex, 12-20 x 3-8 cm (4.75-8 x 1-3 in.), dark green above, paler below, glabrous, of thin papery texture. Flowers 8-12 cm (3-4.75 in.) across. Petals rose, obovate to obovate-elliptic, rounded at the apex. Stamens 15-20 mm long, filaments purplish, anthers yellow. Carpels 2-2.5 cm (0.75-1 in.) long, conical in the lower part, attenuated upward to the stigma, densely covered with a silky tomentum of short golden-brown hairs, or glabrous. Flowering May to June. 2n = 10.
Distribution: China, in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, growing in open woodland and on riverbanks at altitudes from 800 to 3500 m (2640 to 11,480 ft.).
Comment: Our collections from Sichuan (Minya Gonka JJH9008045) and Yunnan (Haba Shan JJH9007004, Beima Shan JJH90070015) are more or less uniform, abit variable in color of corolla, ranging from pale pink to rose-pink. this taxon is not very common in cultivation, but it grows and flowers well in rather shady sites. The plant known as forma oxypetala is only a variant with acute, dentate petals; such individuals co-occur with the type.



p. 114: [drawing] Paeonia mairei

Book  (2004)  Page(s) 200.  
 
P. mairei. A Chinese species related to the above [P. obovata] and benefiting from new imports. It is now becoming more commonly and freely available. It has not been widely grown or appreciated, and it has few extra points of interest. The flowers are various shades of rose to bright pink. this species is primarily for the collector, but it may have unseen secrets for hybridizers to try their hands....ease of growth: Easy and should be grown as the above. Tolerates some shade and damp soils. Hardiness: Temperate, but probably slightly less tolerant of extremes than the closely related Paeonia obovata as it comes from central China.

Book  (2002)  Page(s) 99.  
 
Paeonia mairei Léveillé. Native of China, in N Yunnan and W Sichuan, growing in steep open woods, scrub, and on mountainsides at 800-2900m, flowering in May-June. Stems 50-100 cm, usually 1-flowered; leaflets long, leaves long-acuminate or caudate at the apex, glabrous, thin in texture. Flowers 8-15cm across. Carpels glabrous or covered with short golden-brown hairs, 2-2.5cm long, attenuate towards the stigma. Close to P. obovata, but with narrower leaves, and found further south. This species should grow best in areas with a cool, moist summer in well-drained leafy soil.

Book  (2001)  
 
Paeonia mairei H. Léveillé, Bull. Acad. Int. Géogr. Bot. 25: 42. 1915.
mei li shao yao
Paeonia bifurcata Schipczinsky; P. mairei f. oxypetala (Handel-Mazzetti) W. P. Fang; P. oxypetala Handel-Mazzetti.
Herbs perennial, to 1 m tall. Roots thick, attenuate toward tip. Rhizomes ca. 2 cm in diam. Stems glabrous. Proximal leaves 2-ternate; some leaflets segmented; leaflets and segments up to 19, oblong-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, 6--16.5 × 1.8--7 cm, glabrous, base cuneate, apex usually acuminate. Flowers solitary, terminal, single, 7.5--14 cm wide. Bracts 1--3, leaflike or linear, to 9 cm. Sepals 3--5, green, broadly ovate, 1--1.5 × 0.9--1.2 cm. Petals 7--9, pink to red, obovate, 3.5--7 × 2--4.5 cm, apex usually rounded. Filaments purple-red; anthers yellow. Disc yellow, annular. Carpels 2 or 3, sparsely to densely yellow shortly hirsute, sometimes glabrous. Styles to 4 mm; stigmas red. Follicles 3--3.5 × 1--1.2 cm. Fl. Apr--May, fr. Aug. 2n = 20*.
* Deciduous broad-leaved forests; 1500--2700 m. SE Gansu, NW Guizhou, SW Hubei, S Shaanxi, C and S Sichuan, NE Yunnan.

Book  (Jan 2000)  Page(s) 62.  
 
Paeonia mairei Léveillé
This species is found at high elevations in the south-central provinces of China. the rose-colored flowers are about 4 inches across, the stems are about 20 inches in length, and the lower leaves are biternate, with elliptic leaves. Known only from herbarium specimens, it has not been used for breeding. Chromosme number unknown.