Coral peony

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Coral peony
Coral peony

Coral peony

Systematics
Eudicotyledons
Nuclear eudicotyledons
Order : Saxifragales (Saxifragales)
Family : Peonies (Paeoniaceae)
Genre : Peonies ( Paeonia )
Type : Coral peony
Scientific name
Paeonia mascula
( L. ) Mill.
Paeonia mascula
Paeonia mascula subsp. russoi

The coral peony ( Paeonia mascula ), also known as the large-leaved peony , is a species of peonies ( Paeonia ) within the peony family (Paeoniaceae). Along with the common peony ( Paeonia officinalis ), it is the best-known European peony species.

description

The coral peony is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches heights of about 20 to 80 centimeters. The leaves are simply bitter or with a few divided leaves; nine to 16 segments (up to 21), narrow to broad elliptical to ovoid or round, smooth or hairy on the underside.

The flowers are pink, rarely white ( Paeonia mascula subsp. Hellenica ) and about eight to 14 centimeters in size with about five petals. It has numerous yellow stamens that are fused at their base to form a fleshy ring that secretes nectar .

A special feature is that this peony species has the highest known number of pollen per flower with 3.6 million.

Species delimitation and subspecies

The coral peony is a tetraploid species within its range in the Mediterranean countries and, due to its numerous subspecies and similarities with the sympathetic, closely related and richly shaped Mediterranean peonies, belongs to the European taxa that are difficult to distinguish . It is best distinguished from the diploid Paeonia daurica and the tetraploid Paeonia officinalis by a beet-shaped root and the differently shaped leaves .

Due to the narrowing of the area during the Ice Age and expansion of the area between and after the Ice Age , the Mediterranean peonies are a group that is difficult to distinguish from a taxonomic point of view. Many of occurring here species with close relationship to coral peony as Paeonia arietina , Paeonia broteroi , Paeonia cambessedesii , Paeonia clusii , Paeonia corsica , Paeonia daurica , Paeonia kesrouanensis , Paeonia officinalis , Paeonia peregrina , Paeonia saueri were partially Paeonia mascula ( Paeonia arietina , Paeonia corsica , Paeonia daurica , Paeonia kesrouanensis ) and made the coral peony the most taxonomically difficult peony species with European distribution for a long time. Although the taxonomic revision of the coral peony cannot be considered to be completely finished, from today's perspective, Paeonia mascula (L.) Miller (Syn .: Paeonia corallina Retzius ) can be assumed to have three subspecies:

The nominate form Paeonia mascula subsp. mascula is distributed over a larger area from France to the Apennine peninsula and the Balkans, without colonizing Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily. The subspecies Paeonia mascula subsp. Is found in Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, but also in isolated cases in western Greece and northern Spain . russoi , the subspecies Paeonia mascula subsp. Hellenica is known from Evia, Attica and the Peloponnese.

Other authors also distinguish between the following subspecies:

  • Paeonia mascula (L.) Miller subsp. atlantica (Cosson) Greuter & Burdet (Syn .: Paeonia algeriensis Chabert); it occurs only in Algeria
  • Paeonia mascula (L.) Miller subsp. coriacea (Boiss.) Malagarriga (Syn .: Paeonia corsica Tausch , Paeonia coriacea Boiss.); it occurs in Spain, Corsica and Morocco
  • Paeonia mascula (L.) Miller subsp. icarica Tsan. , it occurs only in the Aegean Sea
  • Paeonia mascula (L.) Miller subsp. triternata (Boiss.) Stearn & Davis ; it occurs in Romania, in the Crimea, in the Aegean and in Asia Minor.

A diacritical key to the species delimitation of the Mediterranean peonies is promising for the experienced botanist due to the hairiness of individual plant parts (carpels, leaves), the leaf shape and the root morphology; only a few species are easier to assign to their origin due to their flower color.

Occurrence

The natural home is the subtropical latitudes of southern Europe, the western Balkan peninsula to Romania and Greece including the Aegean Sea, Italy, as well as France and Spain, but it also occurs in northwest Africa, in the Crimea and in Asia Minor. The locations are warm regions within deciduous forests or their forms of degradation such as the Mediterranean maquis (bush vegetation). It is mostly common in the montane and prefers limestone subsoil. The distribution of the peony is often carried out by birds that carry the large, shiny seeds.

Ornamental plant

The coral peony is used in gardens as an ornamental plant and can also grow well in the rock garden due to its smaller size. It is frugal and can thrive in full sun, but also slightly shaded under fruit trees or summer shrubs. Peonies generally do not like waterlogging and prefer sandy-loamy soils that are well drained. The flowering lasts only briefly and is therefore of no interest in growing ornamental plants.

swell

  • De-Yuan Hong , Xiao-Quan Wang: The identity of Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch (Paeoniaceae), with special reference to its relationship with P. mascula (L.) Mill. In: Feddes Repertorium. Volume 117, Issue 1-2, 2006, pp. 65-84.
  • De-Yuan Hong, Xiao-Quan Wang, Da-Ming Zhang, S. Tugrul Koruklu: Paeonia daurica Andrews or P. mascula ssp. triternata (Pall. ex DC.) Stearn & PH Davis (Paeoniaceae)? In: Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 154 (1), 2007, pp. 1-11.
  • De-Yuan Hong, Xiao-Quan Wang, Da-Ming Zhang, S. Tugrul Koruklu: On the circumscription of Paeonia kesrouanensis, an east Mediterranean peony. In: Nordic Journal of Botany. 23 (4), 2003, pp. 395-400.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b Jaakko Jalas, Juha Suominen: Atlas florae europaeae . Volume 9: Paeoniaceae to Capparaceae. Helsinki 1991, ISBN 951-9108-08-4 , pp. 18-21.
  2. ↑ a b c Paeonia mascula at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  3. ↑ Werner Greuter , HM Burdet, G. Long: MED Checklist . Volume 4, Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques, Genève 1989, ISBN 2-8277-0154-5 , pp. 267-268.

Web links

Commons : Coral Peony  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files