Description
A lovely, pale pink flowered Paeonia reaching 40-80cm tall and flowering early in the season making pale pink flowers with purple filaments and yellow anthers. The species has 2-5 carpels for each flower. It is a diploid species (2n=10) characterised by its hairless green to purple stems, and lower leaves which are usually divided in 9 leaflets (when mature). The leaves are hairless on the upper surface but the undersides can be either hairless (rarely) or covered, sometimes quite densely, in fine, soft hairs. The foliage is green when fully developed (though it may have a pewter or reddish tinge to it as it emerges and soon after).
This grows well in cultivation here and is very obviously different to P. cambessedesii which might be considered its closest relative. A sunny, well drained site in a decent soil or compost is all it requires.
It is found in Corsica and Sardinia, spreading to the Ionian islands and parts of mainland W. Greece. It does not occur on Sicily and records from there probably (in fact almost certainly) represent P. mascula. Despite a very confused history and a taxonomy involving some 16 different names (15 of which have been wrongly applied), this is the correct plant as described by Sieber in 1828, from Corsica.
Open, sunny spot in a well-drained, loam with leaf matter incorporated but I stress again – good drainage. It isn’t difficult, it just does best like this. Hardy with us.
( The naming of P. corsica and relatives is in almost constant flux and depending on who you believe it is a different species, an invalid name or one of several species. We see it as related to the Majorcan endemic, P. cambessedesii, which also has pale pink flowers also made early in the year, however P. cambessedesii has 4-8 carpels per flower, the stems and foliage are always entirely hairless, with the main veins of its leaves remaining purple throughout the season. There are never more than 9 leaflets per leaf in P. cambessedesii and its foliage is distinctly and characteristically silvery or greyish on the upper surface, looking almost metallic, throughout the season.)
