Paeonia emodi

Paeonia emodi
File:Paeonia emodi1UME.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Paeoniaceae
Genus:	Paeonia
Species:	P. emodi
Binomial name
Paeonia emodi Wall. ex Royle

Paeonia emodi, is a robust herbaceous plant that winters with buds underground (as so-called hemicryptophyte), has large white flowers and large deeply incised leaves, belonging to the peonies. Its local vernacular names include mamekhor or mamekh (Punjabi), ood-e-saleeb (Urdu) meaning "with-a-cross", ood salap (Hindi), mid (in Kashmir) and 多花芍药 (duo hua shao yao) meaning "multi-flower peony" (Chinese). In English it is sometimes called Himalayan peony. It is among the tallest of the herbaceous peony species, and, while cold-hardy, it grows better in warm temperate climates. It is a parent of the popular hybrid "White Innocence", which reaches 1.5 m.

Description

The Himalayan peony is a large species of perennial herbaceous peony, with hairless stems 60-150 cm, and which has large deep-cut leaves of 30–60 cm long, with up to fifteen hairless, lanceolate pointed leaflets or lobes of up to 14 cm. The stems may carry two to four buds, not all of which always develop into flowers of 8–12 cm in diameter in May or June. Three to six bracts which look like leaflets subtend each flower. The mostly three persistent sepals are approximately circular and convex-concave with a pointed tip. Five to ten white elliptical petals are inverted egg-shaped, 4½×2½ cm, encircle many stamens consisting of filaments of 1½—2 cm long and topped by yolk yellow anthers. There is a short ring-shaped disc which encircles the very base of only one, sometimes two, pale yellow carpels, mostly covered in felty hairs. This develops into a densely hairy or hairless follicle of 2–3½ cm, which contains several roundish seeds which are scarlet at first but turn brownish black if fertile in August or September.

Etymology

Paeonia emodi takes its name from the Latin for Himalaya, "emodi montes", where it grows in the western part of the mountain range.

Distribution

This peony naturally occurs from Afghanistan and southern Tibet (Gyirong County), to western Nepal and grows at an altitude of 1800-2500 m in thickets.

Use

Paeonia emodi is used in traditional medicin in its home range to treat amongst others diarrhoea, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, palpitation, asthma and arteriosclerosis. The parts of this plant contain chemical compounds such as triterpenes, monoterpene glucosides and phenols. Extract of the root stabilises hart beat rates, relaxes the airways and reduces blood clotting. Paeoninol and paeonin C from the fruit inhibit lipoxygenase, an enzyme that produces substances associated with asthma, inflammation, and the growth of bloodvessels in tumors. Paeoninol and paeonin C are active as antioxidant. Research illustrated that an ethanol extract of P. emodi suppressed the growth of common duckweed (50% at 50μg/ml), and was moderately effective in killing some insects (red flour beetle). No inhibition of the growth of bacteria and fungi could be demonstrated, and no general toxicity was observed in brine shrimps, suggesting it may be safe to use.

Cultivation

US Chemisty professor and peony breeder Arthur Percy Saunders made a cross between P. emodi and P. lactiflora that is now known as "White Innocence" (1947), an extremely high (up to 1 m), richly flowering and well known cultivar.