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mrgpag

Looking for a common name

mrgpag SW OH Z5/6
10 years ago

I'm in the process of making tags for a newly planted peony garden in a local arboretum. Typically our tags list the botanical as well as a common name for each plant. I can't seem to find a common name for paeonia anomala nor did the supplier provide one. I've searched the internet with no luck so thought I'd ask the question here.

Thanks for any help with this.
Marshall

Comments (7)

  • maifleur01
    10 years ago

    It is a specie peony so there is no common name.

  • mrgpag SW OH Z5/6
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    So is that typical for peonies? Many other plant species have common names

  • maifleur01
    10 years ago

    The only way a specie plant can have a common name is for selling purposes. People want to put a name to a plant rather than having an "original plant". Also most plants that have common names are not a pure species but hybrid from a group of similar plants. Even with specie peonies there are differences in structure and flower form depending on where the parent plant was found. This is especially true with the tenifolia and obovato which have what is considered to have complexes rather than being only one plant.

  • maifleur01
    10 years ago

    The only way a specie plant can have a common name is for selling purposes. People want to put a name to a plant rather than having an "original plant". Also most plants that have common names are not a pure species but hybrid from a group of similar plants. Even with specie peonies there are differences in structure and flower form depending on where the parent plant was found. This is especially true with the tenifolia and obovato which have what is considered to have complexes rather than being only one plant.

  • mrgpag SW OH Z5/6
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    maifleur - I disagree with your logic about common names and will leave it at that - plus I'm somewhat disappointed about the lack of comments from others regarding my questions. Other GW forums I participate in are very vocal and helpful.
    Thanks just the same
    Marshall

  • maifleur01
    10 years ago

    Marshall perhaps in the areas it is from, Russia eastward it may have a common name but generally not in this country. The Canadian Peony Society does mention Anomalous Peony as a common name which is rarely used.

    For an overview I suggest Halda's book 'The Genus Paeonia" then Hong De-Yuan's several books.

    What ever enjoy the plants you are labeling.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Canadian Peony Society

  • pwin
    10 years ago

    Hello Marshall,

    This is taken from the Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery:

    "Paeonia anomala Linnaeus subsp. anomala. æ°çÂÂèÂÂè¯(Ã¥ÂÂäºÂç§Â) Xin jiang shao yao (Yuan ya zhong) (Chinese). The flowers of this herbaceous treasure ~ usually one per stem ~ are crimson with golden filaments and anthers and about 10 cm (4') across. The highly dissected leaves are dark green above and paler below; with a hand lens you can see a line of bristles along the main veins. At left you see a possible hybrid (truth in advertising!) that looks just like the species. Native to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Siberia in Russia, and Xinjiang in China. Height 50-100 cm (20-40'). Zone 5, perhaps colder.

    "Paeonia anomala subsp. veitchii (Lynch) D.Y. Hong & K.Y. Pan. Woodward's peony. å·Â赤è Chuan shi shao (Chinese). This is the low-growing beauty formerly known as Paeonia veitchii var. woodwardii (Stern & Cox) Stern. No matter its label, this is 'a delightful garden plant and easy to grow in any soil or situation.' ~ F.C. Stern in A Study of the Genus Paeonia. Pink flowers ~ several per stem ~ with purple filaments and golden anthers open in June above grey-green, dissected leaves on a shrub much shorter than the typical 90-cm (35') anomala subsp. veitchii. Native to fairly moist sites: alpine and subalpine meadows, scrub and forest openings in much of western China. At left you see it growing wild in Sichuan province. Introduced to the West from seeds collected at Choni [now Jone] Lamasery in Gansu province, in 1912, by George Fenwick-Owen. Named for the man who first grew it from those seeds, Robert Woodward of Arley Castle, Worcestershire, who died in action in 1915. Height 30 cm (12'). Zone 6."

    Check the photos associated with the descriptions above.

    I hope that helps.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery

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