Paeonia anomala
| Paeonia anomala | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Paeoniaceae |
| Genus: | Paeonia |
| Species: | P. anomala |
| Binomial name | |
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Paeonia anomala L. |
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| Synonyms | |
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P. altaica, P. laciniata, P. siberica, P. sinjiangensis |
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P. altaica, P. laciniata, P. siberica, P. sinjiangensis
Paeonia anomala is a species of herbaceous perennial peony. The vernacular name in Russia is Пион необыча́йный (Pion neobycháynyy) meaning "anomalous peony", in Kazakh it is called кәдімгі Таушымылдық (kädimgi Tawşımıldıq) "common peony", in Mongolia Ягаан цээнэand (Yagaan tseene) "pink peony", and in China 新疆芍药 (xin jiang shao yao), "Xinjiang peony". These plants are ½-1 m high, have a thick irregular taproot and thin side roots, and deeply incised leaves, with leaflets themselves divided in fine segments. It has almost always only one fully developed flower per stem, magenta-red or rarely pink or white. The species occurs in a zone between northern European Russia and northern Mongolia and south to the Tien Shan Mountains.P. anomala bears flowers in early summer.
In garden cultivation, it requires full sun or half-shade and well drained soil. Double-flowered forms are cultivated.
Paeonia anomala is a non-woody species of peony of ½–1 m high, with an irregular carrot-shaped taproot of over ½ m long and 2 cm thick, gradually getting thinner downwards and slender side roots. As all diploid peonies, it has 10 chromosomes (2n=10).
The leaves have no sheath or stipules and are alternately arranged along the stem, are divided into a leaf stalk and leaf blade. The leaf blade is twice compounded or very deeply incised, first into three leaflets, themselves palmately compounded or deeply divided (this is called biternate), each leaflet being further divided into segments that themselves are lobed, resulting in seventy to one hundred segments of ¾-3¼ cm wide. At the end of the growing season the leaves may turn vivid red.
One or very rarely two hermaphrodite flowers fully develop on each stem, while one or two flowerbuds are arrested in their development, and two to five leaflike bracts are present. The flowers are somewhat nodding. Each flower has three to five leathery sepals that mostly end in a stretched tip, making it "leafy", but sometimes one and rarely two sepals may be obovate with a rounded tip, which do not fall after flowering. The corolla usually consists of six to nine oblong cyclamen or rarely pink to white petals of 3-6½ × 1½-3 cm. Towards the centre of the flower are many stamens consisting of filaments of ½–1 cm topped with anthers that ripen from the inside out, open with slits and release yellow pollen. The pollen is released in sets of four grains together. Dependent on latitude and altitude flowers open between April and July and are said to smell like Lily of the valley. Petals and stamens are shed after flowering. The two to five carpels are initially pale yellow with reddish stigmas, but eventually become green, may be hairless or covered in soft felty hairs. Within, several large, initially red but eventually shiny black seeds of 6×4 mm develop, and each carpel opens by a slit over the entire length. Ripe seedheads may be present during August and September.
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