Article (magazine)  (Jan 1955)  Page(s) 12.  
 
Robert Fortune, the great explorer of the Royal Horticultural Society, made four trips to China and introduced many fine plants to England. In 1846, he brought twenty-five of the finest tree peonies ever to come out of China. Among these were 'Atrosanguinea,' 'Berenice,' 'Bijou de Chusan,' 'Dr. Bowring,' 'Globosa,' 'Glory of Shanghai,' 'Lord Macartney,' 'Pride of Hongkong,' 'Robert Fortune,' 'Samarang,' and 'Zenobia.' These were enthusiastically received and quickly propagated, so that both British and continental nurseries cataloged them in some quantity in the 1860's.

Book  (Apr 1907)  Page(s) 29.  
 
203. ATROSANGUINEA, P. moutan. ... (Fortune, 1846)
(1) 1849, Journal Hort. Soc. Vol. 4, p. 225.
(2) 1850, Annals of Hort. p. 348.
(3) 1885, The Garden Vol. 27, p. 33.
(4) Cornell Plot No. 91.
 

Website/Catalog  (1861)  Page(s) 58.  
 
New Chinese Tree Paeonias introduced by Mr. R. Fortune.
The followng magnificent tree-like peonies surpass by the gloss of their colours and the size of their blooms all variety known to-date and distinguish themselves namely also by their partly pure white, partly dark red colouring from all known varieties.
61. Atrosanguinea ...3 Prussian Thaler

Website/Catalog  (1860)  Page(s) 28.  
 
Chinese Tree Pæonies. — Pæonia Moutan.
These are the most splendid and showy of all flowering shrubs, and among the most rare.
The flowers are mostly fragrant, and all are double, unless denoted otherwise.  They are perfectly hardy, and will withstand the winters of our most northern States and the Canadas.  They bloom in May, ten to fifteen days before the Chinese Herbaceous varieties.
The following are distinct new Chinese Varieties obtained by Robert Fortune; and, as they are the most rare and valuable varieties, the prices will be regulated according to their size.
122.  Atrosanguinea.

Magazine  (1 Sep 1855)  Page(s) 194.  
 
Le Jardin des Pivoines en Chine, par Robert FORTUNE (1)....
J'allai visiter, après le jardin du Stwï (South garder) ), celui des Pivoines Mouian (Moutan gardens), situé à 5 ou 6 kilomètres ouest de Shanghaï, au milieu d'une vaste plaine consacrée à la culture du cotonnier. Je rencontrai, sur ma route, de nombreux coolies (2) qui portaient, au marché, des paniers remplis de Pivoines en arbre en pleine fleuraison. A mon arrivée au jardin, j'y vis une grande quantité de ces plantes, dont les fleurs étaient surprenantes de beauté; mais les plus remarquables sont celles à fleurs pourpres et lilas. 11 y en avait une très petite, à feuilles élégamment découpées, portant des fleurs pourpre foncé velouté, — comme la Rose de Toscane, cultivée en Angleterre, — et qui me paraît une espèce très-distincte ; les Chinois la nomment black (Pivoine noire), et c'est elle, je crois, que le docteur Lindley a décrite dans le Journal de la Société sous le nom de Pœonia atrosanguinea. Une autre espèce, à fleurs très grandes, et nommée en chinois Tse, c'est-à-dire pourpre, est probablement la Pivoine à mille pétales , qui est réservée pour le jardin de l'Empereur. Enfin , il en est une troisième nommée Lan ou Pivoine bleue, dont les fleurs ont la couleur de la Glycine de Chine ( Wisteria sinensis). Il y en a plusieurs autres à fleurs pourpre, très distinctes des précédentes et qui sont tout aussi belles...
(1) Traduit de l'anglais.

Magazine  (1855)  Page(s) 32.  
 
MOUTAN PAEONIES INTRODUCED FROM CHINA.
BY MESSRS. STANDISH AND NOBLE, BAGSHOT NUBSEBY.
Of the many remarkable plants imported by us from China, these, if judged by the size and beauty of their flowers, are among the most attractive. In the magnitude of their individual blossoms, in the diversity and richness of their colours, as well as in the profusion in which they are produced, nothing remains to be desired. The following sketch will afford an idea of their general characters. First, of colour: of white there are examples unsurpassed in intensity and clearness by any other flower, not excepting even the old double white Camellia. Of rose colours there are many shades, as well as of purples, and one rivalling the richness of the Tuscan rose. Then there is a pale blush, light red, deep red, salmon colour, primrose, peach colour, and crimson; with various other tints and combinations of these already mentioned. Some of the light-coloured ones have the bases of their petals deeply stained with red or purple; others are delicately shaded. Most of the flowers are very double; some are, however, only semi-double, the latter generally have the petals stained as described. In shape many are finely cupped; more resemble the finest rose, and others have anemone flowers. Of the last named, a white and a deep red are fine examples. In size, too, they are remarkable; some of the flowers produced last season, and from small plants, measured eight, ten, and twelve inches across.....
Atrosanguinea, magnificent rich deep purple.

Magazine  (1850)  Page(s) 161-162, Pl. 31.  Includes photo(s).
 
THE DEEP BLOOD-COLOURED MOUTAN.
(MOUTAN OFFICINALIS; ATROSANGUINEA.)
A Hardy Undershrub, from China, belonging to the Natural Order of Crowfoots.
Paeonia Moutan, atrosanguinea : Journal of the Horticultural Society, vol. iv., p. 225.
It will probably be admitted, without any difference of opinion, that this is the finest of the Moutans introduced by the Horticultural Society. It is a plant with a vigorous growth, a deep green foliage tinged with red, and very large, very double flowers, with dark blood-coloured petals, which are nearly as broad in the centre as at the edge. In foliage it is much like the common Moutan papyracea.
And now a word respecting the genus Moutan, which we propose to separate from Paeonia. We need not say that all the Moutans are furnished with a tough leathery coat which is drawn tightly round the carpels, of which it allows nothing but the stigmas to project. This organ has no existence in Paeonia, or in that part of it which one of us formerly proposed to call Onaepia, containing P. Brownii and another. It is of somewhat uncertain nature; wherefore it has received from different persons the names of Disk, Nectary, Perigynium, Paracorolla, &c. Upon this organ the genus Moutan is founded; and thus it differs from Paeonia as much as Ranunculus from Adonis, Actaea from Thalictrum, Trollius from Helleborus, all genera of the same order, that is to say, because of the presence of a part which does not appear in others.
Of the nature of this part there is little room for doubt. It is in all probability an innermost row of abortive stamens, the filaments of which are united into a cup, while the anthers refuse to appear; and therefore it is referable to that part of the flower winch botanists now call disk. D. Don said he found anthers upon its edge, and if he was not mistaken that would be conclusive as to its nature; but we have never been able to find anthers upon it, nor does it appear that anyone except Mr. Don ever did.
In one of his interesting letters, Mr. Fortune gives the following account of the manner in which the Chinese propagate Moutans :—
"The propagation and management of the Moutan seem to be perfectly understood by the Chinese at Shanghae, much better than they are in England.
"In the beginning of October, large quantities of the roots of a herbaceous Paeony (* A variety with small single flowers) are seen heaped up in sheds and other outhousts, and are intended to be used as stocks for the Moutan. The bundle of tubers which forms the root of a herbaceous Paeony is pidled to pieces, and each of the finger-like rootlets forms a stock upon which the Moutan is destined to be grafted. Having thrown a large number of these rootlets upon the potting bench, the scions are then brought from the plants which it is desirable to increase. Each scion used is not more than au inch and a half or two inches in length, and is the point of a shoot formed during the bygone summer. Its base is cut in the form of a wedge, and inserted in the crown of the finger-like tuber just noticed. This is tied up or clayed round in the usual way, and the operation is completed. When a large number of plants has been prepared in this manner they are taken to the nursery, where they are planted in rows about a foot and a half apart, and the same distance between the rows. In planting, the bud or point of the scion is the oidy part which is left above ground; the point between the stock and the scion, where the union is destined to take place, is always buried beneath the surface. Kaempfer states that the Chinese propagate the Moutan by budding; but this must have been a mistake, as budding is never practised in the country, and is not understood. He was probably deceived by the small portion of scion which is employed, and which generally has only a single bud at its apex.
"Many thousands of plants are grafted in this manner every autumn, and the few vacant spaces which one sees in the rows, attest the success winch attends the system; indeed it is rare that a graft fails to grow. In about a fortnight the union between the root and the scion is complete, and in the following spring the plants are well-established and strong. They frequently bloom the first spring, and are rarely later than the second, when they are dug up and taken to the markets for sale in the manner I have described. When each has only one stem and one flower-bud, it is of more value in the eyes of the Shanghae nurserymen than when it becomes larger. In this state it is more saleable;' it produces a very large flower, and it is easily dug up and carried to the market. I could always buy large plants at a cheaper rate than small ones, owing to these circumstances.
"In the gardens of the Mandarins it is not unusual to meet with the tree Paeony of great size. There was one plant near Shanghae which produced between three and four hundred blooms every year. The proprietor of it was as careful of it as the Tulip fancier is of his bed of Tulips. When in bloom it was carefully shaded from the bright rays of the sun by a canvas awning, and a seat was placed in front, on which the visitor could sit down and enjoy the sight of its gorgeous flowers."

Magazine  (1849)  Page(s) 225.  
 
New Plants, etc. from the Society's garden....
23. Paeonia Moutan: atrosanguinea.
Received from Mr. Fortune in May, 1846, marked "dark-purple," from Hong Kong, and from Shanghae as "very dark, nearly black."
Flowers, a good double, dark crimson; outer petals large and mostly entire; inner ones much smaller and lobed; foliage like that of the old P. papaveracea, but rather narrow and more pointed.
This is a very handsome, deep-blood coloured variety, the darkest in colour of all the Tree-paeonies yet in cultivation. [bloomed] May 18, 1849.

Magazine  (1849)  Page(s) 237.  
 
Amongst the many beautiful plants introduced from China, by Mr. Fortune, were a quantity of tree paeonias, which, though in some instances not answering the character with which they came, are, nevertheless, very beautiful, and great additions to this splendid tribe. In the Journal of the Horticultural Society, two are described as having lately flowered in the garden. One is,
P. Atrosanguinea, with double dark crimson flowers. The foliage is smaller than that of the Papaveracea, and is very handsome. It is said to be the darkest tree paeony in cultivation.