Paeonia
PAEONIA MOUTAN.--Moutan Paeony, or Chinese Tree Paeony. China and Japan,
1789. A beautiful shrubby species introduced from China about one
hundred years ago. The first of the kind introduced to England had
single flowers, and the plant is figured in Andrews' _Botanists'
Repository_ (tab. 463) under the name of P. papaveracea. The flowers are
white with a dark red centre. In the _Botanical Magazine_ (tab. 2175),
the same plant is figured under the name of P. Moutan var. papaveracea.
This is perfectly hardy in our gardens, and is the parent of many
beautiful and distinct varieties, including double and single white,
pink, crimson, purple, and striped.