All these photos were taken at the end of August... I almost got them posted last week but the Blogger site got hung up. And then more good weather descended and miles and miles passed under the tires of my road bike... Anyways, here they are at last. One species has yet to open its carpels:
Paeonia lactiflora, the Chinese Peony, which is predominant in the ancestry of most of our, dare I say common?, "garden peonies".
Carpels of
Paeonia mlokosewitschii, the Golden Peony, had taken on an interesting and showy red tone. (These have since opened, but not until about a week ago. Photo to follow)
Paeonia obovata, the third-last of my species to show its seed display.
Paeonia macrophylla, close kin of
Paeonia steveniana (some might say identical or close enough to it) but a tiny bit later to ripen seed.
Paeonia officinalis (in this case, subspecies
villosa). Not so exotic and showy, but on close inspection the inside surface of the carpels are satiny reddish in tint. None of the
officinalis mob here have had the bright red aborted beads; rather theirs are tiny, shrivelled, and brown. Only the viable seed has any size to it.
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An interesting development during an Argentine football (soccer) match I was watching on tv today: one of the Ball Boys got red-carded and ejected from the field (well, the margins of it anyways!). The kids had been taking their time in giving the ball to the visiting team when they had won a throw-in.
Paeonia mascula, the Male Peony. These are well-developed already, with fat buds.
Steven's Peony, Paeonia steveniana, also going great guns and with fat buds already formed.
The very interesting Paeonia triternata. Mostly green, blueish tinge, not much red or purple in the leaf even at this early stage. Distinctively furled.
One of the subspecies of the Apothecarie's Peony, Paeonia officinalis ssp villosa just showing its nose.
And the enigmatic Paeonia mollis.
Carpels of Paeonia mlokosewitschii, the Golden Peony, had taken on an interesting and showy red tone. (These have since opened, but not until about a week ago. Photo to follow)
Paeonia obovata, the third-last of my species to show its seed display.
Paeonia macrophylla, close kin of Paeonia steveniana (some might say identical or close enough to it) but a tiny bit later to ripen seed.
Paeonia officinalis (in this case, subspecies villosa). Not so exotic and showy, but on close inspection the inside surface of the carpels are satiny reddish in tint. None of the officinalis mob here have had the bright red aborted beads; rather theirs are tiny, shrivelled, and brown. Only the viable seed has any size to it.
Carpels of Peonia officinalis subsp villosa.
One of the smaller peonies, this is a "species" which apparently has never been found in the wild, but is known only in gardens. Considered by some to have been a rare or possibly extinct plant in the wild, it was brought to the UK in the 19th century from Russia. It is 
related to Paeonia officinalis, and indeed some botanists classify it as within the range of characteristics of P. officinalis subsp villosa. It's rather distinct looking however. The flower is a true pink as opposed to having some tint of blue in it, and it has wonderful foliage. A good size for a rock garden or a small space. First bloom date here 31 May this year.
