Paeonia clusii

Paeonia clusii is a perennial, herbaceous plant of 25–50 cm high. Both diploid (2n=10) and tetraploid (2n=20) specimens have been found. Differences between the subspecies Subspecies rhodia is characterised by twenty three to forty eight, ovate to lanceolate leaf segments, each between 2.5 and 4.5 cm wide. Subspecies clusii has between twenty three and ninety five leaf segments in the lower leaves. The segments are lanceolate to linear, each usually no more than 2.7 cm wide, but rare exceptions to 3.3 cm. == Taxonomy ==

In 1824, Joseph Sabine describes Paeonia cretica based on a specimen from the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, which later turned out to be synonymous to Paeonia arietina (named in 1818), and this plant probably originated from mainland Turkey, not from Crete. Another specimen, now from Crete, was described as P. cretica in 1828 by Tausch, but at that moment the name was no longer available, and hence invalid. Stern proposed P. clusii to replace Tausch's name. Stearn, in 1941, distinguished the population on Rhodes as a separate species and named it P. rhodia. Tzanoudakis however, points out it only differs in the number and shape of the leaf segments, and thus regards it as a subspecies of P. clusii. Etymology Paeonia clusii was named in honor of the Dutch botanist Carolus Clusius, who was the first to write about a white flowered peony from Crete, already in 1601. == Ecology ==

The typical subspecies grows in maquis on limestone between 200–1900 m elevation. Subspecies rhodia occurs as undergrowth of pines at an elevation of 350–850 m. == Cultivation ==

Rhodes' peony likes well-drained, loamy soil or compost. It's hardy in the UK, but because it starts growing in late winter the leaves may be damaged by frosts. As can be expected from a plant from the Mediterranean, they suffer from wet soil. == References ==