''Paeonia turcica'', the Turkish peony, is a

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

Paeoniaceae The peony or paeony () is any flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'', the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae. Peonies are native to Asia, Europe, and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguishe ...

. It is also called the "bear rose" in Turkey. It is native to the mountainous regions of south-western Turkey, particularly in

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

and

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

. This rare

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 ...

herb grows to about 60 centimetres tall and produces striking

magenta Magenta () is a purple-red color. On color wheels of the RGB color model, RGB (additive) and subtractive color, CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located precisely midway between blue and red. It is one of the four colors of ink used in colo ...

-rose flowers with golden centres, typically blooming earlier than other peony species. It grows at elevations between 1500 and 1820 metres in pine forests and open shrubby areas on

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

formations. First scientifically described in 1965, this endemic Turkish species has demonstrated excellent cold hardiness in cultivation, surviving temperatures as low as -7 °C without damage, making it a valued

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

despite its limited distribution in the wild where it faces potential conservation challenges due to collection for export.

Description

''Paeonia turcica'' is a herbaceous

plant that grows to roughly 60 cm in height with smooth, hairless stems that have a slightly bluish-grey coating. The leaves are compound, arranged in groups of 5–6, with the lower leaves having 9–11 leaflets. These are elliptical or oval-elliptical in shape, measuring 9–14 cm long and 5–7 cm wide. The terminal leaflet (at the end of the leaf stem) has its own stalk, while the side leaflets are often stalkless. The leaf stems and main of the leaf blade typically display a reddish-purple colouration on their upper surface, while the underside appears slightly bluish-grey, sometimes with small white hairs. The flowers are a bold magenta-rose colour, with broad, oblong (the outer parts that protect the flower bud) and petals (wider at the tip than at the base) measuring 3.5–4 cm long. The flowers feature a central mass of golden (pollen-producing structures) encircled by crimson-tipped, white-woolly (female reproductive parts). The plant typically produces 2–5 smooth, seed-containing structures called carpels, each 4–5 cm long and 1.5–1.8 cm wide. These develop a distinctive (pollen-receiving structure) that measures 0.2 cm long, with a slight upward curve along its length and a wavy margin. After the petals have fallen, the plant remains attractive with its elegant foliage and glossy black seeds held within open, crimson-lined fruits. The

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

number for this species is 2''n''=20, indicating it is a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

(having four sets of chromosomes). ''Paeonia turcica'' shares similarities with '' P. kesrouanensis'' from

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and the Amanos region but can be distinguished by its shorter stigma style that curves near the base rather than forming a coiled structure. Another distinctive feature of ''P. turcica'' is that its leaflets have small hairs on the underside, while its carpels are smooth and hairless. ''Paeonia turcica'' was first documented flowering in cultivation in 1996 at the

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

, where it demonstrated considerable hardiness, surviving temperatures as low as -7 °C without damage. The species typically flowers earlier than other peonies grown outdoors at Kew, making it a valuable garden plant for its beauty, relative ease of cultivation, and early flowering characteristics.

Habitat and distribution

''Paeonia turcica'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Turkey, with a relatively limited distribution primarily concentrated in the south-western regions of the country. It naturally occurs in the ancient regions of

and

, which correspond to parts of modern-day south-western Turkey. The species is found growing at elevations between 1500–1820 metres above sea level, particularly in mountainous areas such as the Bey Dağlari (Bey mountain range) near

Elmalı Elmalı is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,433 km2, and its population is 40,774 (2022). It lies about inland, near the town of Korkuteli and west of the city of Antalya. Formerl ...

. It grows in open, shrubby conditions on

formations, particularly in the Yeni Tabiat Forest. The plant's natural habitat consists primarily of ''

Pinus brutia ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is ...

'' (Turkish pine) and ''

Pinus nigra ''Pinus nigra'', the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica ...

'' (black pine) forests, where it can be found both within forest margins and in more open situations. While taxonomically related to other peony species found in Turkey, ''P. turcica'' has a more restricted range compared to some of its relatives. Distribution maps indicate that it is mainly found in the southern regions of Turkey, particularly in the south-west. Unlike the more widespread '' Paeonia mascula'' subspecies, which occur across much of Turkey including the north-western areas around

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida' ...

and

Çanakkale Çanakkale is a city and seaport in Turkey on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. It is the seat of Çanakkale Province and Çanakkale District. Conservation assessments suggest the species may fall into the "Rare" category, indicating its limited distribution and potentially vulnerable status. The wild populations are known to be collected for export under trade names that sometimes misidentify the species, which could pose conservation challenges for this distinctive Turkish endemic.

Taxonomy

''Paeonia turcica'' was first formally described by the botanists Peter Hadland Davis and James Cullen in 1965, as published in ''Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh''. The type specimen was collected from Boz Dağ, above Abbas in Denizli Province, Turkey, where it was found growing in ''Pinus brutia'' forests at an elevation of 1500–1800 metres on 16 July 1941. ''Paeonia turcica'' belongs to the

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

''Paeonia''. It is part of a group of eight distinct taxa that represent the genus in Turkey, alongside species and subspecies such as '' P. mascula'' (with several subspecies), '' P. peregrina'', '' P. tenuifolia'', '' P. kesrouanensis'', and '' P. wittmanniana''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7124101 turcica Endemic flora of Turkey Plants described in 1965