'DAURICA' Peony (Paeonia daurica)

Okay, this one is for we peony nerds and following is more than you'd ever normally want to know. BUT, when we find something truly unique, spectacular, and inspiring we want to share all that we can. "Peony 'Daurica' , commonly referred to as 'CRIMEAN PEONY' is a very-early, single, pink species peony, best known in gardens as Paeonia tritemata 'Pallas', distinguished by ruffled, rounded, upturned leaves. Probably discovered by Pallas before 1790 and sent to Bell in London, this is the original name under which it has long been known in gardens. Only recently has it been noted that it was a "nomen nudum": a name without a valid description. Under botanical rules, therefore, it had no standing. For that reason Stern has accepted the next oldest name "daurica".  Stebbins considered "tritemata" the species of which 'mlokosewitschi' was a botanical variety, but Stern does not agree and places it in the mascula group. It was listed by Barr in 1885 as "single-type flowers of rose or magenta