WILD PEONY.
Pæonia Brownii, Dougl. Buttercup or Crowfoot Family.
Coarse, leathery herbs, with woody roots. Stems.—Stout; branched; ten to eighteen inches high. Leaves.—Alternate; once- or twice- ternately compound; the leaflets ternately lobed. Flowers.—Solitary; Sepals.—Green; often with leaflike appendages. Petals.—Five to ten; dark red. Stamens.—Numerous. Pistils.—Two to five; becoming leathery follicles. Hab.—Almost throughout California.
Our wild peony, which is the only species of North America, grows through a wide range of territory, from the hot plains of the south to the region of perpetual snow in the mountains of the north. As might be expected, it manifests considerable variation in form and character. Indeed, some authors have thought these variations sufficiently marked to warrant the division of the species into two.
After the first rains in the south, the plant pushes up its broad, scarlet-tipped leaves, and by January, or earlier, produces its flowers, which are deep red, shading almost into black, an inch or so across, and quite fragrant. These blossoms are at first erect; but as the seed-vessels mature, the stems begin to droop, till the fruit rests upon the ground.
The Spanish-Californians consider the thick root an excellent remedy for dyspepsia, when eaten raw; while the Indians of the south use it, powdered or made into a decoction, for colds, sore throat, etc. In the north its leaves are reputed to be poisonous to the touch.
In some localities it is known as "Christmas-rose," and in others the children call its dark, round flowers "nigger-heads." In the mountains it blossoms in June and July near snow-banks.
![[WILD PEONY—Pæonia Brownii.]](#3624944100741987669_f132.png.id-4220483986658521094.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}