Abstract
So far, the cultivated peony is known to be originated from an indigenous species, Paeonia albiflora $P_{ALLAS}$ var. trichocarpa $B_{UNGE}$ (PAT). In this study, these two species were morphologically examined in the external and internal feature and in the pattern of callus formation by tissue culture. Also, they were compared with another indigenous species, P. japonica $M_{IYABE}$ et $T_{AKEDA}$ var. pilosa $N_{AKAI}$ (PJ), which were regarded as being scarcely related to them. The root of the cultivated peony is massive consisting with several storage roots, each of them is a hypotrophic and fusiform. The root of PAT consists of several storage roots, each of them is branching and slender. And the storage root of PJ is short, bended buried horizontally, protruding a number of corpulent lateral root. The secondary xylem of the cultivated peony is small clusters of vessels and xylem fibres are arranged in scalariform and among these cluster, single vessel is joined, but that of PAT is small clusters of vessels are arranged in separate scalariform but are not connected with each other and that of PJ is vessels and xylem fibers are grouped together in elongated clusters that radiate outward from the center. Protoxylem of the cultivated peony is surrounded by four large metaxylem, but that of PAT and PJ by seven. On the other hand, the callus formation patterns of these peonies were different; the cultivated peony callus is formed in an orderly fashion by the mammalate meristematic cell groups, PAT callus is in disorder by the meristematic cells arranged in linear, and PJ callus is in order by the meristematic cells arranged in linear. By the comparison of three different plants in the anatomical appearance and the callus formation pattern, it is evident that the cultivated peony is not derived from PAT.