Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
γλυκυσίδη

Wild peonies of Greece

Paeonia L. (wild Greek species pooled) · Paeoniaceae
Identification: DisputedNot endemic to GreeceEN Endangered
Risk rank
5 of 32 (1–7)
Risk score
0.44(0.41–0.51)3 · Elevated
Identification disputed. Scholars propose more than one modern species. We model the most cited candidate and show the alternative for comparison. Rankings are also reported without disputed plants on the Methods page. See how its rank changes under each alternative identification.
Modelled
Paeonia L.
Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 561-562 (Comm. III cap. CXLVII): 'Duas Dioscorides enumerat species, marem iuglandis, et feminam smyrnii foliis. Illam habeo Paeoniam nostram officinalem, vel arietinam Anders. et peregrinam Mill., foliis subtus pubescentibus a priore distinctam: feminam vero P. corallinam Retz. Qui contrarium proferunt, haud sedulo comparasse foliorum formas videntur. Folia enim Smyrnii multo magis ad P. corallinae formam accedunt. Plures autem species et in Creta et in reliqua Graecia proveniunt.' Thus: MALE (walnut-like leaves) = P. officinalis / P. arietina Anders. / P. peregrina Mill.; FEMALE (Smyrnium-like leaves) = P. corallina Retz. Others assigned them the other way round (contrary opinion noted). Also notes γλυκυσίδη as a name reported by Theophrastus. | Fraas 1845, pp. 134-135 gives the REVERSE assignment: MALE παιωνία ἄρρην (Diosc. 3,147 'mas, foliis juglandis') = Paeonia corallina Retz. ('Daher zieht Sprengel - comment. in Dioscor. pag. 561 mit Unrecht die folgende hieher'); the commonest in Greece, on Delphi (Euboea), Parnassus, Oeta in the fir zone; FEMALE παιωνία ἡ γλυκυσίδη θήλεια = P. officinalis L., much rarer, mostly W Greece (Cyllene, Kalavryta). Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-157 PAIONIA ARREN, PAIONIA THELEIA: SUGGESTED Paeonia foemina [Fuchs], P. communis [Bauhin], P. officinalis var. foemina [Linnaeus]. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n562/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n179/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n180/mode/1up)
Alternative
Paeonia mascula (L.) Mill.
unverified - commonly cited for the 'male' peony; not confirmed from a source this session
Alternative
male peony = Paeonia officinalis / P. arietina Anders. / P. peregrina Mill.
Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 561
Alternative
female peony = Paeonia corallina Retz.
Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 562
Alternative
reverse assignment of male/female (authors not named)
Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 562 ('Qui contrarium proferunt...')
Alternative
male = Paeonia corallina Retz.; female (γλυκυσίδη) = P. officinalis L.
Fraas 1845, pp. 134-135 (explicitly contradicts Sprengel)
Alternative
Paeonia officinalis var. foemina
Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-157

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
γλυκυσίδη
Photograph of Paeonia mascula
Paeonia mascula, one of the species pooled for this plant. Photo: Erdem Cırık · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of Wild peonies of Greece)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book III · ch. 140c. 50–70 CE
γλυκυσίδη
glykyside
γλυκυσίδη· οἱ δὲ πεντόροβον, οἱ δὲ Ἰδαίους δακτύλους, τὴν δὲ ῥίζαν παιωνίαν καλοῦσιν, ἄλλοι δὲ ἀγλαοφῶτιδα. …
Modern identification
Paeonia L.(wild Greek species pooled) · PaeoniaceaeDisputed

Dioscorides describes a 'male' and a 'female' peony; no source ties the chapter to one species, so all wild Greek Paeonia are modelled together (P. clusii and P. parnassica are Greek endemics). Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 561-562; Fraas 1845, pp. 134-135; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, pp. 561-562 (Comm. III cap. CXLVII): 'Duas Dioscorides enumerat species, marem iuglandis, et feminam smyrnii foliis. Illam habeo Paeoniam nostram officinalem, vel arietinam Anders. et peregrinam Mill., foliis subtus pubescentibus a priore distinctam: feminam vero P. corallinam Retz. Qui contrarium proferunt, haud sedulo comparasse foliorum formas videntur. Folia enim Smyrnii multo magis ad P. corallinae formam accedunt. Plures autem species et in Creta et in reliqua Graecia proveniunt.' Thus: MALE (walnut-like leaves) = P. officinalis / P. arietina Anders. / P. peregrina Mill.; FEMALE (Smyrnium-like leaves) = P. corallina Retz. Others assigned them the other way round (contrary opinion noted). Also notes γλυκυσίδη as a name reported by Theophrastus. Fraas 1845, pp. 134-135 gives the REVERSE assignment: MALE παιωνία ἄρρην (Diosc. 3,147 'mas, foliis juglandis') = Paeonia corallina Retz. ('Daher zieht Sprengel - comment. in Dioscor. pag. 561 mit Unrecht die folgende hieher'); the commonest in Greece, on Delphi (Euboea), Parnassus, Oeta in the fir zone; FEMALE παιωνία ἡ γλυκυσίδη θήλεια = P. officinalis L., much rarer, mostly W Greece (Cyllene, Kalavryta). Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 3-157 PAIONIA ARREN, PAIONIA THELEIA: SUGGESTED Paeonia foemina [Fuchs], P. communis [Bauhin], P. officinalis var. foemina [Linnaeus]. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n562/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n179/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n180/mode/1up)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann 1906, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica vol. II (libri III-IV), Berlin: Weidmann; read from page scan on archive.org (BIUSante_65865x02), p. 149. See the page scan.

No European Medicines Agency herbal monograph for this species.

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)−24% (−17 to −41%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)−29% (−15 to −53%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate3,994 km² (2,686–6,121 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.44 (0.41–0.51)Elevated risk class 3
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.10 of max 0.40 · (0.07–0.16)
  • Endemism 0.00 of max 0.20 · not endemic
  • Conservation status 0.15 of max 0.20 · EN · Endangered
  • Harvest pressure 0.20 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 100% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Standard grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.82 ± 0.06
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.66 ours is higher
Boyce index
0.49 ± 0.20
TSS
0.56 ± 0.11
Occurrence records
163 after cleaning (of 395)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.53. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Protect and cultivate

Protect remaining wild stands and start cultivation in the 2050 zones. Resolve the identification first.

Rule: Loses habitat in all 3 climate models · has a 2050 cultivation zone.

Where it could be grown

Identification through time

Who has matched γλυκυσίδη to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Caveats

  • Identification is disputed; results describe Paeonia L. (wild Greek species pooled), which may not be the plant Dioscorides meant.
  • Dioscorides describes a 'male' and a 'female' peony; no source ties the chapter to one species, so all wild Greek Paeonia are modelled together (P. clusii and P. parnassica are Greek endemics).

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now861—28.8%
2050 moderate699 (582–728)−24% (−17 to −41%)32% (30–33%)
2050 high664 (463–780)−29% (−15 to −53%)32% (32–32%)