(1946)  Page(s) 62.  
 
P.Cambessedesii (Willk.) Willkomm in Willkomm & Lange, Prodr. Fl. HisP.3, 976 (1880), in obs., et 3, Fl. HisP.1, io4, t. 65A (1881-85) ; Rodriquez, Fl. Minorca, 4 (1904) ; Bot. Mag. t. 8161 (1907) ; Bailey, Stand. Cycl. Hart. 5, 2435 (1916); F. C. Stem in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. 56, 74 (1931) ; F. C. Stern in ibid. 68, ia6 (1943). Syn. P.corallina Retz. sec. Amor y Mora, Fl. Fanerog. Penis. Iber. 6, 745 (1873), non Retz. corallina var. Cambessedesii Willkomm in Oesterr. Bot. Zeit. 25, 113 (1875), et in Linnaea, 40, 133 (1876); Barcelo, Fl. Balear. 18 (1879); Huth in Engler, Bot. Jahrb. 14, 267 (1891).P.corallina var. fructibus glabris Cambessedes, Enum. PI. Balear. 33 (1827) ; Costa, Fl. Catal. 9 (1864) ; Rodriques, Cat. Raz. PI. Vase. Minorca, 2, l00 (1865-68) ; Mares & Vigineix, Cat. Rais. PI. Vase. Balear. 12 (1880). P.corallina f. leiocarpa Coss. sec. Knoche, Fl. Balear. 1, 475-6 (1921), non P.corallina var. leiocarpa Goes.
Description. Stem glabrous, 30-45 cm. high. Leaves coriaceous, regularly disposed along the stem, decreasing in size towards the apex, 7-5-25 cm. long; lower leaves bitemate. Petiole up to 10-5 cm. long. Leaflets entire, from lanceolate to ovate, sometimes elliptic, apex subacute to acute, 4-10 cm. long, by 2-5 cm. wide, dark green and glabrous above, with nerves impressed, purple or pale green flushed with purple, and glabrous and with nerves raised below. Flowers 6-10 cm. across. Petals broadly obovate, deep rose. Stamens 1-1.7 cm. long, filaments red, anthers 3-4-5 mm. long, yellow. Carpels 5-8, glabrous, purple. Follicles 6 cm. long.
Distribution. balearic islands : Majorca, Puerti Pollenza, Edmonds ss8 (K) ; Las Basas between Audrailx and Estelleuch, 300 metres, Martindale 146 (K); Puig Major, Porta and Rigo (K), Bourgeau (K) ; sine loc. Cambessedes (K), Leighton (K).
Paeonia Cambessedesii is included in the Russi group because of the number and shape of the leaflets which are lanceolate to ovate with the apex sub-acute to acute. It differs from the other paeonies in this group in being glabrous, in possessing larger and coriaceous leaflets, in the deep purple colour of the back of the leaves, and in the greater number of the carpels which are deep purple. It is a diploid while P.Russi var. Reverchoni and P.Russi var. leiocarpa are tetraploids.
P.Cambessedesii flowers at the end of April or the beginning of May ; P.Russi var. leiocarpa at the end of May and P.Russi var. Reverchoni at the beginning of June in English gardens. It was introduced into cultivation in 1896 from the Island of Majorca by Miss Geoghegan, of Dublin. It is becoming scarce in the Balearic Islands and is said to be found now only in the more inaccessible places.
P.Cambessedesii is one of the most delightful of all paeonies for the garden and is the earliest to flower. The flowers are a beautiful shade of deep pink and the whole plant is charming with deep green leaves, purple underneath, set off by the red petioles and stem. It is not always hardy in England, though plants raised from seed seem hardier than those imported. It does best when planted among shrubs where the early sun does not reach it, or against a wall.

(1946)  Page(s) 94-95.  
 
P.emodi Wall. ex Royle, Ill. Bot. Himalayan Mts. 57 (1834); Wallich, " Cat." no. 4727 (1831), nomen subnudum; Bot. Mag. t. 5719 (1868) ; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India, 1, 30 (1872) ; Baker in Gard. Chron., N. Ser. 21,829 (1884) ; Lynch in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. 12, 437 (1890) ; Basu, Ind. Med. PI. 1, 36, t. 23 (1918) ; Coventry, Mid Flow. Kashmir, I, 19, t. 10 (1923) ; F. C. Stern in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. 68, 129 (1943). Syn. P.anomala L. var. emodi (Wall.), Huth in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 14, 269 (1891). P.officinalis L. sec. Hook. f. & Thorns. Fl. Ind. 60 (1855), non L. emend. Willd.
Description. Stem 30-75 cm. high, glabrous, light green, bearing two to four flowers. Lower leaves biternate ; leaflets usually decurrent and confluent at the base, entire or often deeply divided into two, or the terminal leaflet into three segments, leaflets or segments elliptic, narrowed to the base and to the acuminate apex, 12-17 cm. long, varying greatly in width from 1.5 cm. to 5.5 cm., dark green and glabrous above (very minutely puberulous along the veins), sometimes lighter green and glabrous below. Flowers 8-12 cm. across. Petals obovate, white, 4-5 cm. long, 2-4 cm. wide. Stamens about 1.5 to 2 cm. long, filaments and anthers yellow. Carpels usually one, rarely two, densely hispid, hairs yellowish. Follicles 1.5-2.6 cm. long.
Distribution. india : Chitral, Pattisun Nullah, 2750 metres, Toppin 425 (K) ; Lowan Pass, 2440 metres, Toppin 421 (K) ; Madaglasht, 2750-3050 metres, Toppin 425 (K) ; Ziarat, 2290 metres, Harris 15812, 15814 (K). Hazara, Kalapani, Deane (K) ; Hazara, 1340-1830 metres, Stewart 208 JH (K) ; Khagan, 1830-2440 metres, Stewart 24 (K) ; Kinimola Nala, Liddar Valley, Duthie 25462 (K). Kashmir, Bamishal Pass, Winterbottom 180 (K) ; sine loc. Thomson (K), Falconer 77 (K). Tehri-Gahrwal, Datmir, 2290 metres, Rogers (K), 2440 metres. Gamble 24280 (K) ; Shaora, 2590 metres, Rogers (K) ; Pindar Valley, Dakuri, Legge 68 (K). Kumaon, Bindur, 1530-2440 metres, Madden (K), bid. 2290 metres, Strachey & Winterbottom (K); sine loc. specif., Blinkworth, Wallich Herb. 4727 (K) ; Edgeworth 48 (K) ; Pindari River, Biskam 2330 (E).
Paeonia emodi is a very beautiful paeony found in the United Provinces of India, Kashmir and Chitral. It is like P.lactiflora in having more than one flower to a stem and in the long leaflets up to 17 cm. long, but differs from P.lactiflora in the leaflets, which are longer and not scabrid along the margins, and in the carpel, which is nearly always solitary and densely hairy with short yellowish hairs. The flowers are always white. It is found at about 7500 feet. Huth draws attention to the presence on all the main veins on the otherwise glabrous upper side of the leaves of an uninterrupted line of delicate small hairs just visible through a lens. These are particularly visible in fresh specimens but seems to rub off on older dried specimens. P.emodi is a diploid.
P.emodi is hardy in the south of England in well protected places and seems to grow best amongst shrubs where it is protected from the early morning sun.
There is a very beautiful form of this paeony known as P.X emodoff which has been distributed from the Glasnevin Gardens in Dublin. It grows up to 100 cm. (3 ft. 4 in.) in height and makes a big bush in the garden. Sir Frederick Moore informs me that it is said to be a cross between P.officinalis alba and P.emodi and that P.officinalis alba is the female parent. Comparison with dried specimens of P.emodi and with plants raised from seed of the wild P.emodi reveals no differences except that it is larger in all its parts and grows to a greater size. Again, it comes true from seed and is a diploid like P.emodi so that it is highly improbable that it can be a hybrid with P.officinalis, a tetraploid, as its seed parent. I, therefore, conclude that it is no more than a specially robust form of P.emodi.

(1946)  Page(s) 79.  
 
P.Mairei Leveille in Bull. Geogr. Bot. Le Mans. 25, 42 (1915) ; F. C. Stem in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. 68, 128 (1943). Syn. P.bifurcata Schipczinsky in Not. Syst. Herb. Hort. PetroP.1, No. 7, P.3 (1920).
Description. Stem about 50 cm. high, fide Schipczinsky, 60-90 cm., fide Wilson 50, glabrous. Lower leaves bitemate, sometimes with lateral leaflets bifurcate ; leaflets elliptic or obovate-elliptic, cuneate to long-cuneate at the base, long-acuminate to caudate at the apex, 12-19 cm. long, 3-8 cm. wide, dark green above, paler below, glabrous, of thin papery texture. Flowers 8-10 cm. across. Petals rose, obovate to obovate-elliptic, rounded at the apex, 5-7 cm. long, 2-4 cm. broad. Stamens I-5-2 cm. long, filaments red (?), anthers yellow. Carpels 2-2-5 cm. long, conical in the lower part, attenuated upwards to the stigma, densely covered with a silky tomentum of short golden-brown hairs or glabrous.
Paeonia Mairei at first glance might be mistaken for P.lactiflora; it differs from the latter in having a solitary flower instead of more than one to the stem, in the leaves which are larger and which are long acuminate to caudate at the apex and in the leaflets which are glabrous with smooth margins. Further, the carpels are narrowly attenuated to the stigma. In this character of the carpels it is like P.obovata, but it differs from P.obovata in its longer, differently shaped and glabrous leaves. P.Mairei is very closely allied to P.oxypetala, the main distinction being in the petals which are obovate to obovate-elliptic and rounded at the apex, whilst in P.oxypetala they are obovate to obovate-oval with a shortly acute or pointed apex.
In both species some specimens have glabrous and some tomentose carpels ; but in both the tomentum is composed of short golden-brown hairs quite distinct from those seen on any other species of paeony.
It was described by Leveille in 1915 when he was working out the plants collected by Maire in Yunnan. Maire's specimen is in the herbarium of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, and has tomentose carpels. Pere Farges collected this species (No. 566) in Szechwan in the district of Tchen-keou-tin, and his specimens are in the Kew Herbarium and at Paris. Some of these have glabrous and some tomentose carpels. One specimen at Paris has huge leaflets measuring 17 cm. long by 11 cm. wide. Wilson also found a specimen (No. 3035 (K)) near Tatsienlu in Szechwan which has glabrous carpels.
Leningrad authorities kindly lent the type specimen of Schipczinsky's P.bifurcata which was described from Pere Farges's specimen No. 566. This has enabled a comparison to be made with the type specimen of P.Mairei, and there appears to be no difference between them. P.Mairei as far as is known, has never been in cultivation.

(1946)  Page(s) 74-75.  
 
P.obovata Maximowicz, Prim. Fl. Amur. (in Mem. Acad. Sc. St. Petersb. 9: 29 . (1859). Regel, Reisen Süden Ost-Sibir. Radde 124 (1861), et Fl. Ussur. 13 (1862) ; Fr. Schmidt, Reisen Amur-Lande und Ins. Sachalin (in Mem. Acad. Sc. St. Petersb., Ser 7, 12), 109 (1868); Baker in Gard. Chron., N. Ser. 21, 779 (1884) ; Forbes & Hemsley in Journ. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 23, 22 (1886) ; Huth in Engl. Bot. Jahrb. 14, 266 (1891); Maximowicz in Bull. Acad. Sc. St. Pétersb. 31, 13 (1887), et Mil. Biol. 12, 416 (1893) ; Korshinsky in Acta Horti Petrop.12, 302 (1892) ; Huth in Bull. Herb. Boiss. 5, 1095 (1897) ; Boissier, ibid. 7, 6oi (1899) ; Res. Hart. 1899, P.565, fig. 238 ; Freyn in Oesterr. Bot. Zeit. 1901, P.382 ; Komarov, Fl. Mansh. 2, 226 (1903) ; Vilmorin, Hort. Vilm. (in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 51, App.) 82, fig. 23 (1906) ; Somoku Dzusetsu, Ed. Makino, 10, t. 22 (1910); Gard. Chron., Ser. 3, 57, 290, fig. 94 (1915) ; Terasaki, Nippon Shokubutsu Zufu [JaP.Bot. III. Album], t. 288 (1933) ; Komarov, Fl. U.R.S.S. 7, 27 (1937); F. C. Stern in Journ. Roy. Hort. Soc. 68, 128 (1943). Syn. P.obovata var. alba Saunders in Nat. Hort. Mag. 13, tab., P.227 (1934). P.obovata var. amurensis Schipczinsky in Not. Syst. Herb. Hort. Bot. Petrop.2, 44 (1921). P.obovata var. australis Schipczinsky, I.c. P.obovata var. typica Makino in Bot. Mag. Tokyo, 12, 302 (1898), et in Journ. Jap.Bot. 5, 9, P.33 (1928) ; Makino & Nemoto, Fl. Japan, Ed. 2, P.332 (1931); P.oreogeton S.P. Moore in Journ. Linn. Soc. London. Bot. 17, 376 (1879) ; Komarov, Fl. U.R.S.S. 7, 26 (1937).? P.vernalis Mandl in Bot. Köz.1. 19, 90 (1921), et in Oesterr. Bot. Zeit. 71, 177, fig. 2 (1922) ; Komarov, Fl. U.R.S.S. 7. 27 (1937). P.Wittmanniana Lindl. sec. Finet & Gagnepain in Bull. Soc. Bot. France, 51, 525 (1904), et Contrib. Fl. Asie Or. 1, 222 (1905), non Lindl.
Description. Stem 40-60 cm. high, glabrous. Lower leaves bitemate; leaflets unequal, terminal usually obovate, laterals broadly oval or oblong, all shortly acuminate at the apex, cuneate or widely cuneate at the base, mostly 5-12 cm. long, 3-5-7 cm. wide, in fruit up to 14-5 cm. long and 8-5 cm. wide, thinly papery, dark green and glabrous above, glaucous and sparsely villose below. Flowers white to rose-purple, 7 cm. across. Stamens 1-7 cm. long, filaments white or rose, anthers yellow. Carpels 2-3, glabrous, 2 cm. long, attenuated, stigma conspicuous, 5 mm. across. Follicles 3-3,5 cm. long.
Distribution. Siberia : Amur, Maximowicz (K). Manchuria : Upper Ussuri, Maximowicz Iter sec. anno 1860 (K) ; prov. Austro-Ussuriensis, Komarov 654 (K) ; River Sungatschi, Maak (K) ; between Mukden and Tung-che-shien, James (K) ; between Tung-che-shien and Maor Shan, Yaloo River, James (K) ; prov. Kirinensis, Komarov 614 (K) ; Sheng-king, Kwandien, Ross 07 (K). Sachaline : near Kussunai, Fr. Schmidt (K). China : Chihii, frontier of Shansi, Chanet 7549 (K) ; Shansi, Tao-t'eou, Licent 2210 (K) (P) ; Ta-pai-shan, Licent 2817 (P) ; Szechwan, Tchen-keou-tin, Farges (K). Japan : Central mountains 610-2120 metres, Maries (K) ; sine loc. Maries (K) ; mountains of Aomori, Faurie 413 (K).
Maximowicz first described Paeonia obovata in 1859 from plants collected in the Amur district, north of Vladivostock. The name refers to the obovate shape of the acuminate terminal leaflet. This species is spread over a wide area in north-eastern Asia from eastern Siberia through Manchuria to China and Korea ; several forms exist in this wide distribution, differing slightly from each other in the hairiness of the leaflets. Schipczinsky (1921) described variations which mainly differ in the flowers opening widely or not. P.obovata is a tetraploid. The long attenuated carpels are characteristic of this and the other species in this group.
S. Moore described as a new species P.oreogeton, a plant that he thought had yellow flowers ; in his description the flower is described as " lutea ? " The specimen Moore described is in the Kew Herbarium and is undoubtedly a typical white flowered specimen of P.obovata. In the American Paeony Society's Bulletin of December, 1939, there is an interesting article by A. S. Loukashkin of the Manchuria Research Institute, who describes finding a paeony on May 25, 1939, in the region of the station of Ertaohotze, 80 kilometres east of Harbin in the Tachinshan Mountains, N. Manchuria, and reproduces a photograph of a cream-coloured paeony which he names P.oreogeton. There may, therefore, be a cream-coloured form of P.obovata, but the dried specimens from Manchuria appear to be typical P.obovata.
P.vernalis Mandl, 1919, was described by Mandl from a specimen collected in the districts near Vladivostock and preserved in the herbarium at the Botanical Institution of the University of Vienna. From photographs of this specimen it appears to agree exactly with P.obovata Maxim. P.vernalis was described as having glabrous leaves, a character in which it agrees with P.japonica, but the petals are described as " spreading radiating," in which respect it resembles P.obovata and is unlike P.japonica. Further, it is said to come from Siberia, which is the location of P.obovata. Mandl does not in his description refer to the leaves being glabrous but says " Near P.obovata Maxim, from which it differs by its short peduncle 7 cm. long (not 7-16 cm. long), which is always shorter than the upper leaves, by its bigger flower, by the petals spreading—radiating not connivent, white not rose, by the colour of the filaments (described as dark blue at base, white upwards) and by flowering 20-30 days later than P.obovata." These characters do not appear to be very important. It is therefore surprising that Mandl did not refer to the glabrous leaves in which it differs from P.obovata. There may, of course, be a variety of P.obovata with glabrous leaves, as Handel-Mazzetti refers to such a plant from Manchuria and Yunnan.
The leaves of P.obovata, as seen in the dried herbarium specimens, differ considerably in size. This is largely due to the curious feature shown by this species and by its variety Willmottiae that the leaves increase in size between the time the plant is in flower and the time when the fruit is ripe. This unusual character can be plainly seen if the dried fruiting specimens in the herbarium are compared with those that are only in flower. Collectors report that there are both pink and white flowered forms, but only the white form is in cultivation. It is a very beautiful garden plant but not easy to grow. It appears to grow best in good soil facing west, where it does not get the early morning sun.