Paeonia brownii

Paeonia brownii is a glaucous, summer hibernating, perennial herbaceous plant of 25–40 cm high with up to ten stems per plant, which grow from a large, fleshy root. Each pinkish stem is somewhat decumbent and has five to eight twice compound or deeply incised, bluish green, hairless, somewhat fleshy leaves which may develop purple-tinged edges when temperatures are low. The blades of the leaflets or segments are oval to inverted egg-shaped, 3-6 × 2–5 cm, with a clearly narrowed, stalk-like foot and an stump or rounded tip. The bisexual flowers are cup-shaped, 2–3 cm when open, nodding, and are set individually at the tip of a branching stem, and bloom for 9–15 days. Flowering occurs from March to June (mostly mid-April to mid-May). The five or six overlapping sepals are a purplish green, cupped, and oval or almost circular, persist after flowering. The five to ten circular petals are usually shorter than the sepals, and grade in colour from brownish-maroon at the base, via wine red to greenish or yellowish on the edge. Each flower has 60-100 yellow stamens, consisting of filaments of 3–5 mm, that are topped by anthers of 2–4 mm long. These open in succession from the inside out shedding yellow pollen, starting from the second day. A disc consisting of about twelve fleshy cone-shaped greenish-yellow lobes of 2½-3 mm high surrounds the two to six (mostly five) glabrous, initially yellow-green to ultimately yellow-red carpels, each having a short style topped by a curved stigma that forms a ridge. These are receptive during the first two days that the flower is open. Fertilised carpels mature into 2–4 cm long follicles that have become leathery when ripe. About four seeds develop per follicle, which are yellowish-brown to black, round to oval and 6–11 mm in diameter. As all diploid peonies, Paeonia brownii has ten chromosomes (2n=10).[2][3][4]

Paeonia brownii was first described in 1829 by David Douglas in the Flora boreali-americana which was edited by Hooker. No synonyms for this scientific name are known. Paeonia californica has been regarded a subspecies of P. brownii, but there are several morphological differences, the environmental circumstances in which each grows are different and the distributions of both species do not overlap, so currently there seems to be consensus that both need to be regarded as separate species.[6]

Paeonia brownii and P. californica together make up the section Onaepia of the genus Paeonia. Precise relationships between the three sections remain ambiguous, and can be represented by the following phylogenetic tree.[7][8]

Brown's peony grows in open dry pine forests such as stands of ponderosa pine, in sagebrush, in mountain brush, and in aspen stands at elevations of 200–3,000 m, where winters are long and cold, with little to no snow cover and the growing season is short. It occurs in northern California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. It is not native to Canada.[3][10]

P. brownii is very specific when it comes to soil conditions. It will not thrive where the soil is excessively wet, nor if the soil becomes too dry. It performs best in well-drained situations.[11]

fruits

seeds

In the Blue Mountains at about 1050 m altitude, P. brownii grows in an upland prairie on basalt-substrate close to conifer stands. In addition to a variety of grasses, the surrounding vegetation includes western monkshood, Hooker's and arrowleaf balsamroot, redstem ceanothus, pinkfairies, hairy clematis, dwarf larkspur, parsnipflower buckwheat, fernleaf and nineleaf biscuitroot, sulphur lupine, beardtongues species, virgate scorpion-weed, sticky and slender cinquefoil, sagebrush buttercup, dwarf and Nootka rose, common snowberry, American vetch and northern mule's ears. Brown's peony avoids drought by dying down completely in early summer, after flowering and surviving underground with stores of nutrients and energy in its thick rootstock.[4] When parts of the plant are broken, bruised or damaged by predation it produces a pronounced bitter and unpleasant scent. Plants are rarely eaten, but caterpillars of the species Euxoa ustula, dark grey fishia and small heliothodes moth have been found to eat 1–2 mm holes in the flowers, although these species are better known from other host plants. Flowers give off the same smell more weakly and the lobes of the disc secrete a sweet nectar with a bitter aftertaste over the entire time the stigmas and anthers are fertile.[2]

Brown's peony is rarely cultivated because it has limited ornamental value due to its few and small flowers and the difficulty to grow it. It is highly intolerant of water during its summer dormancy. It is advised to place this plant in an area of the garden with superb drainage and sheltered from summer rains. Paeonia brownii tolerates sand.[4]

Native Americans made the roots into a tea to treat lung illnesses.[14]

The roots of P. brownii can be eaten for its nutrient content.. Indigenous tribe members would also use them as a medicine to cure cough, kidney problems, sexually transmitted infections, pneumonia, nausea, indigestion and tuberculosis.[15]