Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, or, A garden of all sorts of pleasant flowers which our English ayre will permitt to be noursed vp / a kitchen garden of all manner of herbes, rootes & fruites for meate or sauce vsed with vs, and, an orchard of all sorte of fruitbearing trees and shrubbes fit for our land, together with the right orderinge, planting & preseruing of them and their vses & vertues

Chap. LXXX.
Pæonia. Peonie.

There are two principall kindes of Peonie, that is to say, the Male and the Female. Of the male kinde, I haue onely known one sort, but of the Female a great many; which are thus to be distinguished. The male his leafe is whole, without any particular diuision, notch or dent on the edge, & his rootes long & round, diuided into many branches, somewhat like to the rootes of Gentian or Elecampane, and not tuberous at all. The Female of all sorts hath the leaues diuided or cut in on the edges, more or lesse, and hath alwaies tuberous rootes, that is, like clogs or Asphodill rootes, with many great thick round peeces hanging, or growing at the end of smaller strings, and all ioyned to the toppe of the maine roote.

1. Pæonia mas. The Male Peonie.

The Male Peonie riseth vp with many brownish stalkes, whereon doe grow winged leaues, that is, many faire greene, and sometimes reddish leaues, one set against another vpon a stalke, without any particular diuision in the leafe at all: the flowers stand at the toppes of the stalkes, consisting of fiue or six broade leaues, of a faire purplish red colour, with many yellow threds in the middle, standing about the head, which after riseth to be the seede vessels, diuided into two, three or foure rough crooked pods like hornes, which when they are ful ripe, open and turn themselues down one edge to another backeward, shewing within them diuers round black shining seede, which are the true seede, being full and good, and hauing also many red or crimson graines, which are lancke and idle, intermixed among the blacke, as if they were good seede, whereby it maketh a very pretty shew: the roots are great, thick and long, spreading in the ground, and running downe reasonable deepe.

2. Pæonia fæmina vulgaris flore simplici. The ordinary single Female Peonie.

This ordinary Female Peonie hath many stalkes, with more store of leaues on them then the Male kinde hath, the leaues also are not so large, but diuided or nicked diuersly on the edges, some with great and deepe, and others with smaller cuts or diuisions, and of a darke or dead greene colour: the flowers are of a strong heady sent, most vsually smaller then the male, and of a more purple tending to a murrey colour, with yellow thrumes about the head in the middle, as the male kinde hath: the heads or hornes with seed are like also but smaller, the seede also is blacke, but lesse shining: the rootes consist, as I said, of many thicke and short tuberous clogs, fastened at the ends of long strings, and all from the head of the roote, which is thicke and short, and tuberous also, of the same or the like sent with the male.

3. Pæonia fæmina vulgaris flore pleno rubro. The double red Peonie.

This double Peonie as well as the former single, is so frequent in euerie Garden of note, through euery Countrey, that it is almost labour in vaine to describe it: but yet because I vse not to passe ouer any plant so slightly, I will set down the description briefly, in regard it is so common. It is very like unto the former single female Peony, both in stalkes and leaues, but that it groweth somewhat higher, and the leaues are of a fresher greene colour: the flowers at the tops of the stalkes are very large, thicke and double (no flower that I know so faire, great, and double; but not abiding blowne aboue eight or ten daies) of a more reddish purple colour then the former female kinde, and of a sweeter sent: after these flowers are past, sometimes come good seed, which being sowne, bring forth some single flowers, and some double: the rootes are tuberous, like vnto the former female.

4. Pæonia fæmina flore carneo simplici. The single blush Peony.

The single blush Peony hath his stalkes higher, and his leaues of a paler or whiter greene colour then the double blush, and more white vnderneath (so that it is very probable it is of another kinde, and not risen from the seede of the double blush, as some might thinke) with many veines, that are somewhat discoloured from the colour of the leafe running through them: the flowers are very large and single, consisting of fiue leaues for the most part, of a pale flesh or blush colour, with an eye of yellow dispersed or mixed therewith, hauing many whitish threads, tipt with yellow pendents standing about the middle head: the rootes are like the other female Peonies.

5. Pæonia fæmina flore pleno albicante. The double blush Peony.

The double blush Peony hath not his stalkes so high as the double red, but somewhat lower and stiffer, bearing such like winged leaues, cut in or diuided here and there in the edges, as all these female kindes are, but not so large as the last: the flowers are smaller, and lesse double by a good deale then the former double red, of a faint shining crimson colour at the first opening, but decaying or waxing paler euery day: so that after it hath stood long (for this flower sheddeth not his leaues in a great while) it will change somewhat whitish; and therefore diuers haue ignorantly called it, the double white Peony: the seedes, which sometimes it beareth, and rootes, are like vnto the former female kindes, but somewhat longer, and of a brighter colour on the outside.

6. Pæonia fæmina Byzantina. The single red Peony of Constantinople.

This red Peony of Constantinople is very like in all things vnto the double red Peonie, but that the flowers hereof are single, and as large as the last, and that is larger then either the single female, or the male kinde, consisting of eight leaues, of a deeper red colour then either the single or double Peonies, and not purplish at all, but rather of the colour of an ordinary red Tulipa, standing close and round together: the roots of this kinde haue longer clogs, and not so short as of the ordinary female kinde, and of a paler colour on the outside.