accepted name (2006):
Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch (1828) see: Hong & Wang 2006
Stern (1946):
15. Paeonia Russi var. Reverchoni sect. PAEON SUBSECT. foliolatae russi GROUP
15. P.Russi var. Reverchoni Le Grand in Bull. Assoc. Franc. Bot. 2, no. 15, P.62 (1899) ; F.C.Stern in Journ.Roy.Hort.Soc. 68, 126 (1943).Syn. P.glabrescens Jordan in Jordan & Fourreau, Ic. Fl. EuroP.2, 38, t. 322 (1903).
Description. Differs from P.Russi by its glabrous carpels, and leaflets tomentose on the lower surface.
Distribution. corsica : Serra di Scopamene, near Sarthene, Reuerchon si8 (K). sardinia : Mount Limbardo, Reverchon 291 (K).
Paeonia Russi var. Reverchoni was described by Le Grand as follows :— " carpelles glabres comme dans le P.Corsica Sieb. mais feuilles pubescentes en-dessous, de meme forme que dans le Russi. Corse Serra di Scopamene."
This is another instance of two forms of a species growing in the same geographical area whose main distinction is the presence or absence of tomentum on the carpels. This paeony closely resembles P.Russi except that its carpels are glabrous ; the back of the leaves are tomentose while the undersides of the leaves of P.Russi are pilose. It is a tetraploid.
Collected plants have been grown at Highdown and flower in May. They appear to be perfectly hardy and of easy cultivation. The flowers are a light pink and are an attractive addition to the garden.
Cullen & Heywood (1964):
Stern (1946) recognizes two variants of P. russii with glabrous carpels, var. reverchonii le grand and var. leiocarpa (cosson) Stern. They may be accomodated within subsp. russii as minor variants. The identity of the gathering of reverchon from Corsica cited by stern has caused some difficulties. As frequently occurs with reverchon's collections, the sheets under the same number differ from one herbarium to another.
Those at Edinburgh (E) and Kew (K) possess mascula-like fruits which are truncate at the apex, with a short style, while those at Liverpool (LIVU) and Manchester (MANCH) have coriacea-like fruits with a long tapering apex and a long style. It seems most probable that Reverchon's material was not all collected from the same place but was given the same number by him (a not infrequent failing of his) and there has been a confusion in labelling.
Hong De-Yuan, Wang Xiao-Quan (2006)
Hong De-Yuan, Wang Xiao-Quan (2006) The identity of Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch (Paeoniaceae), with special reference to its relationship with P. mascula (L.) Mill., Feddes Repertorium, Volume 117, Issue 1-2, 2006. Pages 65-84, Copyright © 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim, Abstract, it is online available [Abstract: The taxonomy of the genus Paeonia in central Mediterranean islands has been controversial, with number of recognized taxa changing greatly from one species without infraspecific division to three species or five infraspecific taxa in one species, and with the number of synonyms as great as 30. In the present work, the taxonomic history is thoroughly reviewed and a taxonomic revision is made based on extensive field work, chromosome observation, population sampling, examination of a large amount of herbarium specimens, and subsequent statistic analysis. As a result of the studies P. corsica Sieber ex Tausch, an ignored specific name, is restored at specific rank, and the species is found distinct from all the three subspecies of P. mascula in this region in having mostly nine (vs 10) leaflets/segments, shorter hairs (1.5 mm vs 3 mm long) on carpels, rather densely holosericeous (vs glabrous or very sparsely hirsute) on the lower surface of leaves. It is a diploid, confined to Corsica France), Sardinia (Italy), Ionian Islands and Akarnania Province of Greece, whereas P. mascula is a tetraploid, widely distributed from Spain to Turkey and Iraq, but not in Corsica, Sardinia and W Greece. In addition, type specimens of four taxa are designated, and 29 botanic names are listed as synonyms of P. corsica in this paper. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) Translated Abstract: Die Identität von Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch (Paeoniaceae), mit besonderem Bezug auf ihre Verwandtschaft mit P. mascula (L.) Mill. Die Taxonomie der Gattung Paeonia auf den zentralen Mittelmeerinseln ist stets kontrovers gewesen. Die Anzahl der Taxa wechselte zwischen einer Art ohne infraspezifische Differenzierung bis zu drei oder fünf infraspezifische Taxa innerhalb einer Art. Die Anzahl der Synonyme beträgt bis zu 30 Taxa. In vorliegender Arbeit wird die Geschichte der Taxonomie sorgfältig betrachtet und eine taxonomische Revision auf der Basis extensiver Feldstudien, Chromosomen-Bewertung, Sammlungen von Populationen, der Untersuchung zahlreicher Herbarproben und abschließender statistischer Analysen vorgenommen. Im Ergebnis dieser Untersuchungen wird Paeonia corsica Sieber ex Tausch, ein bislang unbeachteter Artname, erneut in den Rang einer Art erhoben. Diese in dieser Region gefundene Spezies wurde als verschieden von den drei Unterarten von Paeonia mascula befunden. Sie hat meist neun ( 10) Blättchen, kürzere Haare (1.5 mm vs 3 mm lang) auf dem Karpell dichtere holoserios (vs glabrous oder selten hirsut) auf der Blattunterseite. Paeonia corsica ist diploid auf Korsika (Frankreich), Sardinien (Italien), den Ionischen Inseln und der Provinz Akarnania in Griechenland, während Paeonia mascula tetraploid ist und weit verbreitet von Spanien bis in die Türkei und den Irak, fehlt aber auf Korsika, Sardinien und in Westgriechenland. Außerdem werden Typspecimen für 4 Taxa festgelegt. Als Synonyme von P. corsica wurden 29 Namen aufgelistet. Received: 8 November 2005 ] [local copy pdf html scan]
