CLASS XIII. ORDER V.
POLYANDRIA PENTAGYNIA. Many Chives. Five Pointals.
ESSENTIAL GENERIC CHARACTER.
Calyx 5-phyllus. Petala 5. Styli 0. Capsulæ polyspermæ.
Cup 5-leaved. Petals 5. Pointal none. Capsules many-seeded.
SPECIFIC CHARACTER, &C.
Pæonia, foliolis subtus glaucis et villosis, capsulis sericeis, caule suffruticoso.
Pæony, with leaflets glaucous and villose beneath, capsules silky, and shrubby stem.
Pæonia officinalis. Thunb. Fl. Jap. 230.—Loureir. Fl. Cochin. 1. 343.
Descriptio. Suffrutex 3-pedalis et ultra, ramosus. Rami erectiusculi, cortice subfusco; ramulis erectis lævibus, apicem versus viridibus, pauloque pubescentibus. Folia alterna, bipinnata, pedalia et ultra, horizontalia; superiora adscendentia; petiolis amplexicaulibus, canaliculatis, villis perpaucis sæpe instructis, canaliculâ, petiolorum semper lætissime roseâ; pinnæ 2-4, petiolatæ; pinnulæ sæpe 3, sessiles, infimæ oppositæ, tertia terminalis; omnes basi oblique cuneatæ, superne irregulariter inciso-dentatæ; supra virides, venosæ, nudæ, subtus glaucæ, nervosæ, villosæ. Flores speciosissimi ut in affinibus, sed in nostris exemplaribus pleni, rosei. Capsulæ sericeo-pubescentes.