Paeonia broteri

Brotero’s Paeony Paeoniaceae

Paeonia broteri, the Iberian Peony, is a superb wild peony of Portugal and western and central Spain, producing handsome, deeply divided foliage and solitary, large, cup-shaped flowers in shades of rose-pink to reddish pink, with a prominent boss of golden stamens. Unlike the often rather pampered garden hybrids, this is a genuinely wild woodland and grassland plant, occurring in oak and pine woods, scrub, meadows and rocky habitats, generally on well-drained soils. Kew recognises it as a distinct species, native to Portugal and Spain. 

Its ethnobotanical history is considerably less well documented than that of some Asian peonies, but it has a place in traditional Iberian herbal medicine. Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services records P. broteri in ethnobotanical literature from western Granada, Spain, as well as within the wider medicinal flora of the Mediterranean. Traditional uses of the plant and its roots have included remedies for various ailments, although these historical applications should not be interpreted as recommendations for self-medication.

Taxonomically, it has had a rather busy past: names including Paeonia lusitanica, P. mascula subsp. lusitanica and P. officinalis var. lusitanica have all been applied to plants now treated as P. broteri. Kew currently accepts Paeonia broteri Boiss. & Reut. as the correct name. 

A splendid species peony for a sunny, well-drained border — and one of the Iberian Peninsula’s botanical treasures.

Height: 30–80 cm
Spread: 50–70 cm
Flowering: April–June
Hardiness: H6, approximately −20 to −15°C
Position: Sun or light shade
Soil: Deep, fertile, well-drained soil
Range: Portugal and western, central and southern Spain
Ethnobotanical: Traditional Iberian medicinal plant; recorded in ethnobotanical literature from Granada, Spain