Spec. Char. Peduncles 1-flowered, almost equal in length with the leaves. Leaves biternate; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, acuminated, serrated. Petals emarginate at the apex. (Don's Mill., i. p. 10.) Siberia. Flowers white. June or July. 1753 Height 12 ft. Variety. A blue-flowered variety of this species is mentioned, in Bot. Mag., t. 1591. Description. There is a considerable similarity in this to the last, in foliage and habit of growth; but it is less robust and less branchy; its branches are more ligneouslooking, and the segments of the leaves longer. The calyxes of the flower are white, longer, and with the tips rather connivent than spreading. The whiteness of the calyxes seems to be partaken of by the bark and foliage, as these are of a lighter colour than in A. alpina, the calyxes of which are of a blue colour. The flowers of A. sibírica are longer than those of A. alpina and perhaps less numerous. Geography, History, &c. Found in the mountainous districts of Siberia, as far as the Eastern Ocean, covering the shrubs and underwood, much in the same 26 manner as Clématis Vitálba does in England. Pallas observes that it flowers profusely in June, and that in autumn it delights the eye with its clusters of white feathery seeds. The plant is not very common in British gardens, and has been chiefly cultivated by Messrs. Loddiges. 3. A. OCHOTE'NSIS Pall. The Ochotskoi Atragene. Identification. Don's Mill., 1. p. 10.; Sweet's Hort. Brit., p. 2. Synonymes. Atragene violacea Pall.; Clématis ochotensis Poir.; and Dec. Prod., 1. p. 10. Peduncles 1-flowered. Leaves biternate; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, acuminated, serrated. Petals few, linear. (Don's Mill.) Siberia. Flowers violet. From May to July. 1818. Height 12 ft. Description. The plant bears a strong resemblance to 4. sibfrica, of which it is probably only a va riety. The flowers have four ovate mucronate sepals, which are downy in the margin. Petals none, or sometimes with the outer stamens abortive, a little elongated, and linear. Filaments velvety, a little shorter than the sepals. (Don's Mill., i. p. 10.) Geography, History, &c. Native of Siberia, towards the Ochotskoi Sea; and of Kamtschatka, between Ochotsk and Kantsch. It appears to have been introduced into England in 1818, but we have not seen it in cultivation. 4. A. AMERICA'NA Sims. The American Atragene. Identification. Sims, in Bot. Mag., t. 887.; Swt. Hort. Brit.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 10. Engravings. Bot. Mag., 887.; E. of Pl., 7965., and our fig. 27. Spec. Char. Peduncles 1-flowered; leaves whorled, in fours, ternate; leaflets stalked, cordate, lanceolate, acuminated, entire or somewhat lobed or serrated. Petals acute. (Don's Mill., i. p. 10.) North America. Flowers purplish blue. May to July. 1797. Height 15 ft. Variety. A. a. 2 obliqua Douglas MS. The oblique American Atragene.-Leaflets bluntly serrated. (Don.) Description. This species is distinguishable from all the other Clematídeæ described in this work, by the peculiarity of its leaves being disposed, not oppositely, in alternately decussating pairs, but in whorls of four. This is an anomalous characteristic, which De Candolle has expressed by his specific epithet verticillàris. flowers are large, of a palish purple, and less showy than those of A. alpina. The Geography, History, &c. Found in North America, in shady places, on the sides of rivulets, climbing and creeping among loose rocks; at New York and in Pennsylvania; near the foot of the Blue Mountains; on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains; and at Cape Mendocina, on the north-west coast. Douglas's variety is found on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains, in valleys; and at Cape Mendocina, on the western coast. The species appears to have been introduced into England in 1797: it is found in some gardens and nurseries. The price, in London, is 1s. 6d. a plant; at Bollwyller,? ; and at New York, 1 dollar. 5. A. OCCIDENTA LIS Horn. The Western Atragene. Identification. Sprengel's Syst.; Swt. Hort. Brit.; Don's Mill. Spec. Char. Leaves opposite, ternate; leaflets nearly entire, shining; sepals ovate-lanceolate; flowers somewhat bell-shaped. (Don's Mill., i. p. 10.) Native country, and colour of the flower, unknown. 1818. Description, &c. We have never seen this species, nor is any thing stated in books respecting it, further than what we have given above. THIS section, or tribe, is the only one contained in De Candolle's second of his two divisions of Ranunculaceæ, namely, in Ranunculacea spùriæ, and is identical with that division. It is at once distinguishable from the other division, named Ranunculaceæ vèræ, by the character of the anthers opening to admit the escape of the pollen on the side next the ovaries. In the other, the anthers open on the side outward to the ovaries. De Candolle has questioned (Prod.) whether the Ranunculaceae spùriæ, or Pæoniacea, may not be a proper order. They differ from Clematídeæ in the character named, and, besides, in having the æstivation imbricate, and the carpels from one-seeded to many-seeded. The ligneous species are included in two genera, Pæònia and Xanthorhìza, and of the characteristics of these the following are contrasting ones: "EO`NIA L. Sepals 5, persistent. Petals 5 or more, orbicular, without claws. Stamens numerous. Ovaries 2-5, girded by a fleshy disk. Carpels each containing several seeds. XANTHORHIZA L. Sepals 5, deciduous. Petals 5, truncately 2-lobed, Ovaries 5-10, not girded by a seeds. narrowed into a pedicel. Stamens 5-10. fleshy disk. Carpels each containing 1-3 GENUS I. PÆO`NIAL. THE PEONY. Lin. Syst. Polyándria Di-Pentagýnia. Identification. The term Pædnia was applied by the Greeks to these plants, which have continued to bear that name ever since. Synonymes. Peony, Piony; Pivoine, Fr.; Gichtterrose, and Päonie, Ger.; Rosa del Monte, Span.; Peonia, Ital. Derivations. The term Pæònia is said to have been given by Hippocrates and Dioscorides, in commemoration of Pæon, the physician who first used it in medicine. Mr. D. Don has stated (Sw. Br. Fl.-Gard., 2d series, 238.) that it is much more probable that it is derived from Pæonia, a mountainous country of Macedonia, where some of the species grow wild. Most of the other European names are mere adaptations of the classical one, except gichtterrose, Ger., which signifies the gouty rose, from the knobby, or gouty, appearance of the roots of the herbaceous species. Gen. Char. Calyx of 5 leafy, unequal, permanent sepals. Petals from 5 to 10, somewhat orbicular. Stamens numerous. Disk fleshy, girding the ovaries. Carpels follicular, from 2 to 5, large, many-seeded, terminated with thick bilamellate stigmas. Seeds rather globose, shining. Leaves biternate or bipinnate. Flowers large, rosy, or rosy and white, usually with a strong disagreeable smell. (Don's Mill., i. 65., with adaptation.) Height from 3 ft. to 10 ft. Description. There is but one ligneous species, P. Moútan; but there are several varieties of this: all are undershrubs, which never attain a great height, and the wood of which always retains a herbaceous character, with a large pith. The roots are ramose rather than tuberous. Geography, History, &c. The ligneous species is found in China and Japan; in a wild state in the north of China, and on the mountains in the province of Ho-Nan; and it is cultivated in most gardens in both countries. Its first introduction into England was in 1789. The species and varieties are all beautiful; they are in cultivation in first-rate gardens, and are propagated in the principal nurseries of Europe and America. P. MOUTAN Sims. The Moutan, or Tree, Peony. Spec. Char. Segments of leaves oval-oblong, glaucous underneath. Carpels 5, villose. (Don's Mill., i. p. 65.) Height 10 ft. Identification. Anderson, Linn. Trans.; Dec. Prod., 1. p. 65.; Don's Mill, 1. 65. Synonymes. Pædnia arborea Don, Hort. Can.; P. suffruticosa Bot. Rep.; Pivoine moutan, and Pivoine en Arbre, Fr.; baumartige Gichtterrose, Ger.; Hoa-Ouang, and Pé-Leang-Kin, Chinese. Derivations. The word moutan has been applied to this species of peony, in China, for above 1400 years. P. arborea and P. suffruticosa signify the tree and the sub-shrubby peony. The German name signifies the tree-like gouty rose. The Chinese name Hoa-Quang signifies the king of flowers, alluding to the beauty of the plant; and Pé-Leang-Kin, a hundred ounces of gold, in allusion to the high price which some of the varieties bear in China. Varieties and their Distinctions. P. M. 1 papaveracea Andrews. The Poppy-flowered Identification. Andr. Bot. Rep.; Don's. Mill. Engravings. Andr. Bot. Rep., t. 463.; Lodd. Bot. cab., 547.; Introduced in 1806. Mr. D. Don has remarked form of the species, as the late Mr. George Anderson suggested. P. M. 2 variegata D. Don. The particoloured-petaled Moutan Peony. -A low-growing bushy kind, branching from the ground, and scarcely woody. Flowers about 6 in. across. Petals white, stained with a deep rose-colour in various parts; the base marked with numerous radiating streaks of violet and purple. Anthers yellow. The Earl of Mount Norris, whose successful culture of the tree peony has been rewarded by the production of several splendid varieties, far excelling any of those imported from China, has been so fortunate as to raise this fine variety also, which is remarkable for its dwarf and almost herbaceous habit. It was raised from seeds of the P. M. papaveracea, which the Earl of Mount Norris supposes had been accidentally fertilised by some of the herbaceous species. All the varieties raised at Arley were from P. M. papaveracea, and not from P. M. Bánks, as the gardener had inadvertently stated. (D. Don, in Sw. Fl.-Gar., 2d ser., t. 238.; G. M., vol. x. p. 284.) P. M. 3 Bánksii Andrews. Banks's Moutan Identification. Anders. Lin. Trans.; Don's Mill, Engravings. Bot. Rep., t. 448.; Bot. Reg., 379.; Bot. P. M. 4 Hùmei Ker. Sir A. Hume's Moutan Peony. - Flowers double. Petals of the same colour as those of P. M. Bánks, with a bunch of long petals rising from the middle of the flower. (Don's Mill., i. p. 63.) Cultivated in Britain as early as 1817. Engravings. Bot. Reg., 379. P. M. 5 rosea Dec. The rosy-petaled Moutan Peony. - Flowers semidouble. Petals rose-coloured. Segments of leaves with very blunt fissures at the apex. (Don's Mill., i. 65.) Petals large, of a very deep pink. Cultivated in 1794. Identification. Dec. Prod., 1. 65.; Don's. Mill., 1. 65. This variety is much esteemed, and is at present comparatively highpriced. In G. M., xi. 79., a P. M. ròsea Courtois is mentioned, which Dr. Courtois of Belgium has stated to be distinct from the variety known in Britain by that name; and, also, that the latter is identical with P. M. rùbra Courtois. P. M. 6 ròsea semiplena. The semidouble rosy-flowered Moutan Peony. - This is described, in our Hortus Britannicus, as introduced from China in 1794; as attaining the height of 2 ft., and flowering from April to June; and as having red flowers. P. M. 7 ròsea plèna Hort. Trans. The double-rosy-flowered Moutan Peony.- Flowers very double, of a fine deep pink, nearly scentless. Petals jagged. (Don's Mill., i. p. 65.) Introduced from China in 1804. It flowers from April to June. (Hort. Brit.) Identification. Hort. Trans., 6. p. 477. Synonymes. P. suffruticosa Andr. Bot. Rep. Engravings. Andr. Bot. Rep., t. 373.; Bonpl. Pl. Rar., t. 23. P. M. 8 Rawèsii Hort. Trans. Rawes's Moutan Peony. - Flowers single, pale, slightly tinged with pink. The foliage much resembles that of a herbaceous peony. (Don's Mill., i. 65.) First cultivated in 1820. Identification. Hort. Trans., 6. 479.; Don Mill., 1. 65. P. M. 9 cárnea plena Hort. Trans. The flesh-coloured double-flowered Moutan Peony. Flowers very double, of a delicate purplish pink, with a rich purple rayed spot at the top of each. It is very like P. M. var. Bánks, but has not the central elongated petals of that variety. (Don's Mill., i. 65., with adaptation.) Identification. Hort. Trans., 6. p. 481.; Don's Mill., 1. 65. P. M. 10 álbida plena Hort. Trans. The whitish double-flowered Moutan Peony. - Flowers double, very pale, suffused with purple. (Don's Mill., i. 65.) Identification. Hort Trans., vol. 6. p. 482.; Don's Mill., 1. p. 65. P. M. 11 Anneslei Hort. Trans. Annesley's (the family name of the Identification. Hort. Trans., 6. p. 482.; Don's Mill, 1. 65. P. M. 12 lácera Lindl. The cut-petaled Moutan Peony. - This very Engraving. Bot. Reg., 1771. Expected Varieties. Those mentioned under P. M. 2 variegata, above, as raised by the Earl of Mount Norris. A yellow-flowered variety is mentioned by Mr. Main (G.M., ii. p. 423.), as having been imported by Gilbert Slater Esq., in 1794, and which died. The Chinese pretend to have a black-flowered variety, and a double blue one, which is only possessed by the emperor, and which is said to have from 100 to 1000 petals. It is recommended to those who wish to import plants from Canton, to furnish themselves with good Chinese drawings of the varieties they wish to obtain; and to send these to an agent or collector. Mr. Main also recommends adding to the drawing the Chinese character for the variety, if it can be procured. The word moutan is written in Chinese as in fig. 30. Description. The Pæònia Moútan, in a sheltered situation, will attain the height of from 6 ft. to 10 ft. in ten years; and no plant can be a more gorgeous ornament of the garden than such a bush, abounding 牡 30 丹 as it does in leaves, striking from their branched character and numerous segments, and in very magnificent flowers, of extraordinary size: both leaves and flowers being produced early in the spring. Geography, History, &c. P. Moútan appears to have been first observed by Europeans in the gardens at Canton, where, however, it is neither indigenous nor propagated; but the plants are brought by the commercial gardeners of the provinces of Nan-Kin and Ho-Nan, where it is a native, and sold by them to the merchants and others possessing gardens at Canton. From Chinese drawings, and from the extravagant praises bestowed upon this plant in the Mémoires sur la Chine, published by the missionaries, an ardent desire was excited, in Sir Joseph Banks and others, to import plants into England; and, previously to 1786, Sir Joseph Banks engaged Mr. Duncan, a medical gentleman attached to the East India Company's service, to procure a plant for the royal garden at Kew, where it was first received, through Mr. Duncan's exertions, in 1787. (See Gard. Mag., ii. p. 424.) Various plants have since been imported by different individuals, mostly of the common sort (P. M. Bánks”), but including also some of the varieties which have been enumerated above. In 1803, the P. Moútan was introduced into France, and various other parts of the continent of Europe, having been sent from the Hammersmith Nursery to the garden of Malmaison. Soil and Situation. On its first importation this plant was grown in sandy peat; but it has since been found to thrive best in deep rich loamy soil. An open situation is preferable, both on account of maturing the wood and leaves, and for displaying the flowers to advantage; but the plant must be sheltered from the north and east, or other cold spring winds, unless it is intended to cover it, when it is in flower, with a movable glass, or canvass, case. The protection given to this plant is necessary, not so much to prevent it from being injured during winter (for it will bear the winters of Paris without any protection, if the wood has been properly ripened), as to protect the tender leaves and flowers when they first appear, in April and May, from being blackened by the frost. Mr. Curtis finds, at Glazenwood in Essex, that by giving the plants no protection whatever, they flower somewhat later than if protected; and this slight retardation, in his part of the country, is sufficient, in most years, to prevent the flowers from being injured by frost. In severe weather, however, when they are in flower, he protects them with poles and mats. (Curt. Bot. Mag., vol. i. p. 26., 1833, new edit.) Properties and Uses. The whole plant possesses narcotic and poisonous qualities, which are common to the genus. No use, however, is made of the ligneous species, but as an ornamental flowering shrub, as which, it is needless to say, it holds the very first rank. Propagation and Culture. The Chinese are said to propagate this plant by seeds, in order to procure new varieties; but they also multiply it by parting the roots, and by layers and cuttings; and it is said that "they generally inoculate the buds of different varieties upon the several branches of the same colour. When the time of flowering approaches, they carefully remove all the superfluous buds, in order to strengthen those which they intend to expand; and these they also protect from the scorching heat of the sun.” (Kæmp. Âmæn. |