PAEONIA CLUSII subsp. CLUSII

Family and Genus:- See- PAEONIACEAE

Common Names:- Cretan peony, Clusius's peony.

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Paeonia (Gr) Named by the Greek philosopher Theophrastus for

Paeon, the physician to the gods who, in mythology, was changed into a flower

by Pluto.

Clusii (L) For Charles de l'Ecluse (Carolus Clusius) (1526-1609),

Flemish renaissance botanist.

General description:- A tufted medium perennial, hairy in part.

Stems:-

1) 20-35 cm tall, glabrous, usually pinkish or pale purple.

Leaves:-

1) Lower, biternate, the terminal segments deeply trisect, thus with a total of 15-80

lanceolate, acute, fresh green divisions.

Flowers:-

1) Flowers, 6-10 cm in diam., rather open.

2) Petals, 6-8, obovate to suborbicular, white or rarely pinkish.

Fruit:-

1) Follicles, 2-5, tomentose, stigmatic area red, circinnate in the upper 1/2-3/4

Key features:-

1) Leaves, lower, biternate, the terminal segments deeply trisect.

2) Petals, usually white, but occasionally flushed with pink.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Rocky places, usually in open coniferous woodland, occasionally in

garigue or dolines. 200-1600 m.

Distribution:- Endemic Crete & Karpathos. On Crete confined to the Lefka Ori and

Dikti massiffs, were it can be locally abundant.

Flowering time:- Late Mar-early June.

Photo by:- Steve Lenton

Status:-

Conservation status (for threatened species): Vulnerable (V) according to IUCN

1997

Protection status (for threatened species): Greek Presidential Decree 67/81