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FLOWERS, FRUITS & CRYPTOGAMIA,

WITH DESCRIPTIONS THERE OF

Together with original & seleer - Papers & Reviews.

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Principles and Practice

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THE

MAGAZINE OF BOTANY, GARDENING,

AND

AGRICULTURE,

BRITISH AND FOREIG N.
JANUARY, 1837.

REMARKS ON THE TREE PEONY.

THE tree pæony, and its varieties, Paonia Moútan of botanists, are among the most splendid plants of which our gardens can boast. They have long been cultivated, and have become quite common-so much so, that there are, probably, but few gardens that lay any pretensions to beauty, which are not adorned by the gorgeous blossoms of this fine tribe.

The common double red pæony,-the ornament of almost every garden, the treasured flower of the humble cottage-expanding its gay blossoms when but few other plants are in flower, it is too well known to need any description. When this was first introduced, it commanded an equally high price with that of the tree pæony at the present time, nor was it probably less admired; and although numerous varieties of it have been produced, there are but four or five that rival, and we may almost say, none that surpass it, in splendour. As common as this is, the idea of a tree pæony is quite novel; and there are but few persons who have seen one in bloom, who were not greatly surprised to hear of such a plant. To see the latter grown side by side with the former, is part of the object of this paper; for though at present quite rare, we hope to see the time when every garden will be enriched by its truly magnificent blossoms.

Long before the plants were introduced, they were well known from the botanical and other works upon China and Japan, as also from the repeated representations on Chinese porcelain and paper hangings, and in their paintings, &c. Many varieties are said to exist in China, which have not yet been introduced, and the Horticultural Society possess several paintings of kinds different from those at present to be found in gardens. The Chinese are so selfish in regard to all the plants they possess, that, whatever price is offered, they are reluctant to sell them, and oftentimes deceive purchasers, by selling the most common kinds for those quite rare; and this, too, when the rare ones, to us, are as abundant in their gardens as the more common. So often have purchasers been deceived in this manner, that, from the hundreds of plants that have been imported, only five or six are, in reality, dissimilar. Mr. Sabine, however, in the Horticultural Transactions, enumerates seven; and in the Hortus Britannicus, eleven Chinese varieties are registered.

Perhaps it may not be uninteresting to notice some of the names and colours of the varieties which are said still to exist in the Chinese gardens. That there are a great number we have no reason to doubt. The Chinese are great lovers of beautiful plants, and, although they do not possess a knowledge of vegetable physiology, sufficient to enable them to procure new kinds with any certainty, yet they spare no exertions to do so as far as their knowledge extends, as we may infer from the number of kinds of camellias and other plants which have been introdueed. Various travellers have made great statements in regard to the varieties of pæonies they possess; too great reliance MAGAZINE OF BOTANY AND GARDENING, VOL. III, NO.

is, however, not to be placed upon them, for perhaps they have been deceived. The only good evidence of any such existing is to be derived from the drawings which have been made by good artists, and who have coloured them accurately from actually growing plants. Of such, five were executed at Canton, in 1806, for the library of the East India Company, and copies of them have been made for the London Horticultural Society. Two of them are referable to the P. papaverácea Bánksie and rosea. The third is called the Tsù Moutan, the first name indicative of the colour, and has fine purple blossoms. The fourth is the Pae Moutan, with double white flowers. The latter is of slender growth; it is very scarce and highly esteemed. Mr. Sabine, in a paper in the Horticultural Transactions, to which we are indebted for the information in regard to the history of the tree pæony, states, that one of the double purple Montans was purchased (about the year 1820) by an American captain, in order to be carried home. But we have never heard of such a variety, and it was, in all probability, lost on the voyage. The fifth drawing is called the Hong Moutan Fa, and is said to be a yellow (?) flower. It is said to have been taken from a plant which flowered in the house of a mandarin at Canton, in February, 1810. This, however, was not believed when this statement was published, and the existence of a yellow variety is considered very doubtful. Stories are current at Canton, that they have them of all colours, even blue and black (?)

The London Horticultural Society, under the direction of Capt. Reeves, had six drawings executed in China, which are to be depended on for their accuracy. Two are referrible to the papaveracea and p. Bánksia. The third is a semi-double white, of no great beauty: the fourth a double purple, similar to the one above-named: the fifth a small purplish red, with pale edges to the petals: the sixth a very double pale red, with small inner petals. The society also possesses two other paintings, copied from Chinese originals in the collection of Lady Banks, which are supposed correct; one is a deep rich red, the other a white flower tinted with green. In a work entitled Mémoires sur les Chinois, there are several pages devoted to the history, native habitats, and other particulars respecting these plants. From these, which Mr. Sabine partly embraces in his account, we learn that they are of great antiquity in gardens in the north of China, and supposed to have originally been found growing wild on the mountains in the province of Ho-nan. They were subsequently cultivated in the imperial gardens of Kai-fong-fou, in Ho-nan; but they flourished better in the province of HouKouang, from whence they are sent to Pekin, Canton, and other parts of the empire. It is also represented that the Chinese have plants of various heights, from very dwarf ones to those of twenty or more feet high, and that they produce their flowers at different seasons; some in winter and others in autumn. This account is undoubtedly true, in regard to the native locality of the plants; as their habits would lead us to suppose that they were of Alpine origin, subject to being buried in deep snows during winter, and in spring breaking into foliage I, JANUARY, 1837.

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