Paeonia emodi

Description

The Himalayan peony is a diploid nothospecies with ten chromosomes that results from hybridisation between P. lactiflora and P. mairei. This large species of perennial herbaceous peony with hairless stems of 60–150 cm high, has large deep-cut leaves of 30–60 cm long, with up to fifteen hairless, lanceolate pointed leaflets or lobes of up to 14 cm. The stems may carry two to four buds, not all of which always develop into flowers of 8–12 cm in diameter in May or June. Three to six bracts which look like leaflets subtend each flower. The mostly three persistent sepals are approximately circular and convex-concave with a pointed tip. Five to ten white elliptical petals are inverted egg-shaped, 4½×2½ cm, encircle many stamens consisting of filaments of 1½–2 cm long and topped by yolk yellow anthers. There is a short ring-shaped disc which encircles the very base of only one, sometimes two, pale yellow carpels, mostly covered in felty hairs. This develops into a densely hairy or hairless follicle of 2–3½ cm, which contains several roundish seeds which are scarlet at first but turn brownish black if fertile in August or September