Paeonia officinalis
Paeonia officinalis, the common peony, or garden peony, 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.
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 'Rubra Plena' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Description
It is a herbaceous perennial 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.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. It is widely cultivated elsewhere, but considered a native endemic of Europe.There are six known subspecies:
- P. officinalis subsp. arietina : Native to Italy, Albania and Northern Caucasus.
- P. officinalis subsp. banatica : Native to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Romania and Serbia.
- P. officinalis subsp. huthii : Native to South-east France and North-West Italy.
- P. officinalis subsp. italica : Native to Italy.
- P. officinalis subsp. microcarpa : Native to Portugal, 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 in Kentucky, Massachusetts, Vermont, West Virginia and Canada in Ontario.