Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii
| Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Paeoniaceae |
| Genus: | Paeonia |
| Species: | P. daurica |
| Subspecies: | P. d. subsp. mlokosewitschii |
| Trinomial name | |
| Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii (Lomakin) D.Y.Hong | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii (golden peony or Caucasian peony) is a peony native to the Caucasus Mountains in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Dagestan, where it grows on rocky slopes in oak, hornbeam, or beech forests. It was formerly regarded as a separate species, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, but in 2002, the Chinese botanist Hong Deyuan reduced it to a subspecies of Paeonia daurica.
It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing twenty-three to twenty-seven inches (60–70 cm) tall, with biternate, glaucous leaves with obovate lobes. In spring it bears large, single, lemon-yellow flowers five inches (10–12 cm) in diameter, the ovary pubescent, the two to four carpels white, pink or yellow, and the stamen filaments yellow-green.
It was discovered by the Polish botanist Ludwik Mlokosiewicz in 1897, after whom it was named by Aleksandr Lomakin. The plant is sometimes nicknamed "Molly the Witch", a humorous mispronunciation of the species name, which most non-Poles find difficult to pronounce.
References
- Caucasian Representatives of the Genus Paeonia: 5. Paeonia mlokosewitschii
- Ornamental Plants From Russia: Paeonia mlokosewitschii
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Paeonia mlokosewitschii
- Josef J. Halda and James W. Waddick. The Genus Paeonia. Timber Press. ISBN 0-88192-612-4
- A. Huxley [ed.] (1992). The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 3: 438. Macmillan. ISBN 1-56159-001-0
- Paeonia — Pacific Bulb Society
- BBC Gardener's Question Time Factsheet (1 July 2001)