''Paeonia officinalis'', the common peony, or garden peony, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Paeoniaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to mainly mountainous areas of

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

and introduced in Central and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Europe and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. ''Paeonia officinalis'' was first used for medicinal purposes, then grown as an ornamental. Many selections are now used in horticulture, though the typical species is uncommon. ''Paeonia officinalis'' is still found wild in Europe. The

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

'Rubra Plena' (deep crimson double flowered) has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Description

It is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

growing to tall and wide, with leaves divided into 9 leaflets, and bowl-shaped deep pink or deep red flowers, in diameter, in late spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere).

Distribution

The common peony is native to Europe in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, western

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and the

Balkan peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and possibly northern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1998, Lupo Osti 2006, Aghababian 2011, GRIN 2014). It is widely cultivated elsewhere, but considered a native endemic of Europe. There are six known subspecies: *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''arietina'' ((G. Anderson) N. G. Passal.): Native to Italy,

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and Northern Caucasus. *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''banatica'' (( Rochel) Soó): Native to

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Romania and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''huthii'' (A. Soldano): Native to South-east France and North-West Italy. *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''italica'' (N. G. Passal. & Bernardo): Native to Italy. *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''microcarpa'' ( Boiss. & Reuter) Nyman): Native to Portugal (Northeast and Estrela, Aire e Candeeiros and Montejunto ranges), Spain and southern France. *''P. officinalis'' subsp. ''officinalis'': Native to Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania and introduced to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in Ontario.

Taxonomy

Many

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

exist for ''Paeonia officinalis'', i.e. ''Moutan officinalis'', ''Paeonia anemoniflora'', ''P. barrii'', ''P. baxteri'', ''P. commutata'', ''P. elegans'', ''P. feminea'', ''P. festiva'', ''P. fimbrata'', ''P. foemina'', ''P. fulgens'', ''P. fulgida'', ''P. hirsuta'', ''P. lanceolata'', ''P. lobata'', ''P. mollis'', ''P. nemoralis'', ''P. paradoxa'' var. ''fimbrata'', ''P. peregrina'' var. ''officinalis'', f. ''officinalis'', ''P. porrigens'', ''P. promiscua'', ''P. pubens'', ''P. rubens'', ''P. sessiliflora'', ''P. splendens'', ''P. subternata'', ''P. versicolor''.

Genetics

The common peony is an allotetraploid with two double sets of chromosomes from different parents (2n+2m=20), so it is a hybrid or

nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...

. One of the parents is most likely '' Paeonia peregrina''. The other parent is one of the group of very closely related species, '' Paeonia parnassica'', ''P. arietina'' and ''P. humilis''. Both these parents are tetraploids themselves. ''P. officinalis'' has by far the most extensive range and is one of the more abundant species in the Mediterranean region.

References

External links

* *

officinalis ''Officinalis'', ''officinale'', or occasionally ''officinarum'' is a Medieval Latin epithet denoting organisms—mainly plants—with uses in medicine, herbalism, manufacturing, and cookery. It commonly occurs as a specific epithet, the second t ...

Garden plants Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Saxifragales-stub