A.D. Cotton

A STUDY OF THE GENUS PAEONIA

Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 1947 Vol. LXXII (3) 81-83

For over twenty years Col. F. C. Stern has been engaged in assembling together a collection of Paeonies and in making an intensive study of the species with a view to publishing a systematic monograph of the genus. It has been known to his friends that no time or trouble would be spared to make the treatise as accurate as possible and to render it worthy of " the King of Flowers " and " the King's Ministers " as the Moutan and herbaceous Paeonies respectively are known to the Chinese.

The Monograph has at length appeared as a handsome quarto volume entitled A Study of the Genus Paeonia. It is published by the Royal Horticultural Society, and in spite of present restrictions is excellently produced and in a generous style. It is copiously illustrated with useful drawings and the inclusion of fifteen coloured plates reproduced from Miss Lilian Snelling's exquisite watercolour paintings gives great artistic charm to the volume. The monograph is confined to species and varieties, garden hybrids as a whole being omitted. The botanical descriptions are based exclusively on wild specimens though many notes on modifications and other points which are observable under cultivation are included.

The preparation of a systematic revision is essentially work for the trained systematise since, as well as pure botany, a wide knowledge of botanical literature is necessary, especially in a genus known and cultivated in gardens for many centuries. But Col. Stern, undaunted by the magnitude of the task, embraced with his wonted enthusiasm this aspect of the research. After prolonged study he became master of his subject in the three great fields of investigation —namely, in the garden, the literature and the herbarium. By means of the unique collection at Highdown. which included much authentic material often secured at considerable trouble from the " type " localities, he gained unrivalled experience, and became intimately acquainted with the species, and with their variation under different conditions as well as with problems arising from their genetic constitution. This knowledge, most valuable in itself, was also of great service in the two other fields. It is specimens described by botanists in the past, writing in diverse tongues, and now to a very large extent preserved in the great herbaria of the world, that form the basis of plant-classification and nomenclature. For the purpose of a taxonomic monograph these descriptions have to be carefully studied and compared, and the actual specimens, if extant, examined and correctly interpreted. It is here that an intimate knowledge of the species in the living state is often of such great help. In the case of the genus Paeonia historical specimens in the herbaria of Paris, Vienna, Leningrad, Calcutta and elsewhere had to be investigated, as well as a great wealth of less important material. In addition there is the more general botanical literature, especially floras, requiring attention. Records in floras have to be verified as far as possible or faulty conceptions of geographical distribution may be obtained. Col. Stern found, as does every botanist engaged in such research, that the aim should be a study of all specimens and the entire literature. If the study be perfunctory the work is liable to subsequent correction, often with unfortunate results such as change of name. The references cited, the notes in the text, together with the remarkable historical chapter at the end show how thoroughly the attempt at completeness has been made. In all this research the author has wisely been in consultation with professional botanists at home and abroad.

The volume is divided into five chapters. Chapter i concerns classification, and contains notes on morphology and cytology. An entirely new set of keys is provided tor the subsections, species and varieties, this being an important and extremely useful practical contribution to the study of a genus. The scope of this chapter might usefully have been enlarged. Chapter 2, which provides an annotated summary of the species according to the sections and deals also with geographical distribution, makes interesting reading even for the non-expert. It is illustrated with maps and charts and ends with a stimulating discussion on the distribution of the genus in the light of the cytology. The main portion of the volume, and that which will be most generally used, namely, the systematic enumeration, with descriptions, synonymy, distribution and references to literature, is found in Chapter 3. The descriptions are concise, and not highly technical. The species are not always easy to separate, but the keys will facilitate the work of identification, though the use of these requires close attention and experience. Chapter 5 is headed Paeonies in Cultivation, whilst Chapter 4 provides an epitome of the history of the Paeony from the time of Theophrastus onwards, and is noteworthy for including reproductions of three illustrations from the sixteenth century herbals. The later history is chiefly the concern of the botanist and the Paeony expert, but the earlier history as told in the herbals and other old works has a more general interest and fascination of its own.

The present researches, and the revisions based upon them, have necessitated several changes of name. In general, a broad view is taken, several plants described as species being reduced to the rank of varieties. This is frequently the consequence of taxonomic revision, but the author's gardening experience permits him to speak with more than usual confidence.

Col. Stern is to be warmly congratulated on the completion of his investigations. " A Study of the Genus Paeonia," the product of that ideal combination of gardener and botanist, is no hasty revision. It records the conclusions of an expert after years of patient observation and research and thus attains an exceptionally high standard. It may be expected to earn world-wide approval and to stand the test of time. The Royal Horticultural Society also is to be complimented on undertaking the publication of such an important scientific memoir and producing it in a form which is a delight to the eye as well as to the mind.                                        A. D. Cotton.

"A Study of the Genus Paeania," by F. C. Stern, O.B E., M.C., F.L.S., V.M.H. Imperial quarto, pp. 155. Illus. 15 pp. in colour by Lilian Snelling and text figures by Lilian Snelling and Stella Ross-Craig. R.H.S. 3 guineas.