Paeonia officinalis

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Saxifragales

Familia: Paeoniaceae
Genus: Paeonia
Sectio: P. sect. Paeonia
Subsectio: P. subsect. Paeonia
Species: Paeonia officinalis
Subspecies: P. o. subsp. banatica – P. o. subsp. huthii – P. o. subsp. italica – P. o. subsp. microcarpa – P. o. subsp. officinalis
Name

Paeonia officinalis L., Sp. Pl. 1: 530 (1753).

Typus: Herbarium Linnaeanum N° 692.1 (LINN) (Lectotype designated by Schmitt 2003)

Synonyms

Homotypic
Moutan officinalis (L.) Lindl. & Paxton, Paxton's Fl. Gard. 1: 162 (1850).
Paeonia nemoralis Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton: 375 (1796), nom. superfl.
Paeonia peregrina var. officinalis (L.) Huth, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 14: 270 (1891).
Paeonia peregrina proles officinalis (L.) Rouy & Foucaud, Fl. France 1: 146 (1893).

Notes

Paeonia officinalis Gouan (1765) = Paeonia officinalis subsp. microcarpa (Boiss. & Reut.) Nyman
Paeonia officinalis Thunb. (1784) = Paeonia lactiflora Pall.
Paeonia officinalis Falk (1785) = Paeonia intermedia C.A.Mey. ex Ledeb.
Paeonia officinalis Lour. (1790) = Paeonia lactiflora Pall.
Paeonia officinalis Pall. (1815) = Paeonia mascula Mill.
Paeonia officinalis Hayne (1817) = ?

Hybrids

P. × festiva
Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Middle Europe
Czechoslovakia (introduced), Hungary, Switzerland.
Regional: Southwestern Europe
France, Portugal, Spain.
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Italy, Romania, Yugoslavia.
Regional: Eastern Europe
Central European Russia (introduced).
Continental: Northern America
Regional: Northeastern U.S.A.
Vermont (introduced).

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species Plantarum. Tomus I: 530. Reference page.

Additional references

Schmitt, E. 2003. Typification of the Linnean names of the genus Paeonia L. Candollea 58(1): 183–188. PDF Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Paeonia officinalis in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Aug 23. Reference page.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Paeonia officinalis in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
català: Peònia de muntanya
čeština: pivoňka lékařská
dansk: Bonderose
Deutsch: Gemeine Pfingstrose
English: common peony
suomi: Vuoripioni
italiano: Peonia selvatica
русский: Пион лекарственный
slovenčina: pivonka lekárska
svenska: Bergpion
Türkçe: Adi şakayık

Paeonia officinalis, the common peony,[1] or garden peony,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to mainly mountainous areas of Southern Europe and introduced in Central and Western Europe and North America.[3]

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.[4]

The cultivar 'Rubra Plena' (deep crimson double flowered) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]

Description

It is a herbaceous perennial growing to 60–70 cm (24–28 in) tall and wide, with leaves divided into 9 leaflets, and bowl-shaped deep pink or deep red flowers, 10–13 cm (4–5 in) in diameter, in late spring (May in the Northern Hemisphere).[6]
Distribution

The common peony is native to Europe in Spain, northern Portugal and southern France, Italy, Switzerland, western Romania and the Balkan peninsula and possibly northern Greece (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh 1998, Lupo Osti 2006, Aghababian 2011, GRIN 2014). It is widely cultivated elsewhere, but considered a native endemic of Europe.[3]

There are six known subspecies:

P. officinalis subsp. arietina ((G. Anderson) N. G. Passal.): Native to Italy, Albania and Northern Caucasus.[7]

P. officinalis subsp. banatica ((Rochel) Soó): Native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Romania and Serbia.[8]

P. officinalis subsp. huthii (A. Soldano): Native to South-east France and North-West Italy.[9]

P. officinalis subsp. italica (N. G. Passal. & Bernardo): Native to Italy.[10]

P. officinalis subsp. microcarpa (Boiss. & Reuter) Nyman): Native to Portugal (Northeast and Estrela, Aire e Candeeiros and Montejunto ranges),[11] Spain and southern France.[12]

P. officinalis subsp. officinalis: Native to Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Albania and introduced to the United States in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia and Canada in Ontario.[13]

Taxonomy

Many synonyms 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. 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.[14]

References

"Paeonia officinalis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
"Paeonia officinalis". iucnredlist.org. IUCN. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
Halda, Josef J.; Waddick, James W. (2004). The Genus Paeonia. Timber Press. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-88192-612-5.
"RHS Plant Selector - Paeonia officinalis 'Rubra Plena'". Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. arietina". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. microcarpa". Flora-on. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
"Paeonia officinalis subsp. banatica". catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
Ferguson, Diane; Sang, Tao (2001). "Speciation through homoploid hybridization between allotetraploids in peonies (Paeonia)" (PDF). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 98 (7): 3915–3919. Bibcode:2001PNAS...98.3915F. doi:10.1073/pnas.061288698. PMC 31153. PMID 11259655. Retrieved 2016-04-30.