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Paeony | | Name : | Paeony | | Botanical : | Paeonia officinalis | | Synonyms : | Paeonia Corallina. | | Family : | Ranunculaceae | | Parts Used : | Root. | | Description : | The Paeony is not indigenous to Great Britain, and only grows wild on an island called the Steep Holmes, in the Severn, where it was probably introduced some centuries ago.
The varieties Female and Male Paeony have no reference to the sexes of the flowers. The roots of the Female or Common Paeony are composed of several roundish, thick knobs or tubers, which hang below each other, connected by strings. The stems are green (red when quite young) and about 2 1/2 feet high. The leaves are composed of several unequal lobes, which are cut into many segments; they are of a paler green colour than those of the so-called Male Paeony, and the flowers are of a deeper purple colour. From this variety are derived the double garden Paeonies.
Many of the species have very fragrant flowers.
The roots of the Male Paeony - the kind found wild on the island in the Severn - are composed of several oblong knobs, hanging by strings fastened to the main head. The stems are the same height as in the preceding, and bear large single flowers, composed of five or six large roundish red (or sometimes white) petals. The flowers of both sorts open in May, the seeds ripening in the autumn.
The last-named variety is the kind formerly much cultivated for the roots, which were celebrated for their medicinal value in disorders of the head and nerves. It has been known also as Paeonia Corallina.
The genus is supposed to have been named after the physician Paeos, who cured Pluto and other gods of wounds received during the Trojan War with the aid of this plant.The superstitions connected with the Pzeony are numerous. In ancient times, it was thought to be of divine origin, an emanation from the moon, and to shine during the night, protecting shepherds and their flocks, and also the harvest from injury, driving away evil spirits and averting tempests. Josephus speaks of the Paeony as a wonderful and curious plant. He says - according to Gerard - that 'to pluck it up by the roots will cause danger to he that touches it, therefore a string must be fastened to it in the night and a hungry dog tied thereto, who being allured by the smell of roasted flesh set towards him may pluck it up by the roots.' Pliny and Theophrastus assert: 'that of necessity it must be gathered in the night, for if any man shall pluck of the fruit in the daytime, being seen of the woodpecker, he is in danger to lose his eyes.' Gerard adds: 'But all these things be most vainc and frivolous, for the root of Peionne may be removed at any time of the yeare, day, or houre whatsoever. The seeds used to be strung as a necklace and worn as a charm against evil spirits.Gerard says: 'The black graines (that is the seed) to the number of fifteene taken in wine or mead is a speciall remedie for those that are troubled in the night with the disease called the Nightmare, which is as though a heavy burthen were laid upon them and they oppressed therewith, as if they were overcome with their enemies, or overprest with some great weight or burthen; and they are also good against melancholie dreames.'A drink called 'Paeony-water' made from the plant was once much used, and the kernels or seeds were used in cookery as a spice.
'Stick the cream with Paeony kernels,' Mrs. Glasse's Cookery (1796).
| | Uses : | Antispasmodic, tonic. Paeony root has beensuccessfully employed in convulsions and spasmodic nervous affections, such as epilepsy, etc.
It was formerly considered very efficacious for lunacy. An old writer tells us: 'If a man layeth this wort over the lunatic as he lies, soon he upheaveth himself whole.'
The infusion of 1 OZ. of powdered root in a pint of boiling water is taken in wineglassful doses, three or four times daily.
An infusion of the powdered root has been recommended for obstructions of the liver, and for complaints arising from such obstructions. |
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