Majorcan peony

Description

Paeonia cambessedesii is a perennial herbaceous species of peony of about 45 cm high. It has pink flowers. The stems, major veins and undersides of the leaves remain purple red, while the upper surface of the leaves turns into a metallic bluish green when fully grown and its lower leaves consist of no more than nine leaflets or segments. This endemic of the Balearic Islands is now limited to parts of northeastern and northwestern Majorca. In English it is sometimes called Balearic peony or Majorcan peony. Paeonia cambessedesii is a clump-forming, perennial, herbaceous peony, which dies down in the autumn, and overwinters with buds just under the surface of the soil, and may reach a height of 25–60 cm. The reddish purple stem carries several alternately arranged leaves. The lowest leaves consist of nine leathery, hairless leaflets which are lanceolate to inverted egg-shaped with a pointy tip. The upper surface of the leafblade is bluish green with a metallic gloss, while the main veins are reddish purple, and the underside of the leafblade is purple. Each stem carries one cup-shaped flower of 6–12 cm with usually eight (5-10) pale to purplish pink petals, and is said to smell of roses. Within is a circle of numerous purple filaments topped by yellow anthers. The center of the flower consists of three to nine, initially purple carpels, each of which is connected through a thick style with a reddish stigma on top. The stigmas ripen before the stamens, a situation called protogyny. The three to eight (mostly four to six) carpels develop into dry dehiscent fruits (called follicles) of about 6 cm long, that open with a suture along their lengths, and contain initially carmine colored seeds that turn glossy black when fully ripe.