(2003)  Page(s) 138.  
 
According to our observations in the fiels and in the herbaria....Paeonia in the Caucasus may be classified clearly into three major groups as follows:
1 Roots fusiformly thickened; leaflets/segments of lower leaves more than 70 in number, narrow-lanceolate to filiform, less than 1.5 cm wide
2 Leaflets/segments of lower leaves with segments less than 100 in number, narrow-lanceolate ......1 Intermedia group.
2 Leaflets/segments of lower leaves more than 130 in number, linear to filiform..... 2 Tenuifolia group.
2 Roots carrot-shaped; leaflets of lower leaves mostly 9, rarely 10-19; leaflets ovate, oblong or obovate, over 3 cm wide......3 Daurica group.

(2003)  Page(s) 144-145.  
 
...the P. daurica complex in the Caucasus has notable polymorphism, and no distinct differences have been found between the populations. It is thus considered that the group has differentiated only at the stage of geographical races, and is better treated as a single species with five subspecies. Perennials. Roots carrot-like, attenuate downwards. Lower leaves usually biternate with nine leaflets, occasionally triternate, with up to 19 leaflets; leaflets entire or sometimes bifid, obovate, oblong, wide-elliptic, sometimes undulate, apex round, mucronate, acute or shortly acuminate, glabrous above, glabrous or sparsely to densely villose or pilose, or sparsely to rather densely puberulous beneath, 4.8–11.5 x 8.1–17.1 cm. Flowers solitary and terminal; bracts 0–2; sepals 2–3, green; petals 5–8, white, pale yellow, yellow, yellow with a red spot at base or with red periphery, rose, red, or purple-red; filaments purple; carpels 1–5, glabrous or sparsely to densely tomentose; styles nearly absent. The distribution pattern of the five subspecies is as follows: ssp. coriifolia is found below 1000 m in the western part of the Caucasus (including the Transcaucasus), while the other four occur at subalpine and alpine zones at altitudes of (800) 1000–2300 m. They are vertically vicarious with ssp. coriifolia, but allopatric with ssp. wittmanniana in the north-west, ssp. mlokosewitschii in the north-east. ssp. tomentosa in the south-east, and ssp. macrophylla in the south-west.

(2003)  Page(s) 145.  
 
KEY TO SUBSPECIES OF P. DAURICA
1 Leaflets villose and (or) pilose on lower surface or glabrous; oblong or elliptic-oblong; apex rounded, acute to acuminate.
2 Petals yellow or yellowish white, but sometimes red at periphery or with a red spot at
base: leaflets always villose or pilose.
3 Carpels and follicles glabrous or nearly glabrous
5 Leaflets mostly densely villose or pilose and thus greyish on lower surface..............ssp. macrophylla (Albow) D. Y. Hong

(2003)  Page(s) 137.  
 
Georgia: Borjomi, Bakuriani, 1700 Volcanic rocks, N. slope, pure Fagus forest, ..S. slope, Picea orientalis forest and glade..The type locality of P. steveniana (= P. daurica ssp. macrophylla)

Georgia: Adjaria, Machuhtseti, 1160 m NE. slope, Fagus forest ....The type locality of P. macrophylla (= P. daurica ssp. macrophylla)

(2003)  Page(s) 147-148.  Includes photo(s).
 
Paeonia daurica ssp. macrophylla (Albow) D. Y. Hong. stat. nov. = Paeonia corallina var. wittmanniana f. macrophylla Albow, Prodr. Fl. Colchicae. 15. 1895. Paeonia macrophylla (Albow) Lomakin in Trud Tiflis Bot. Sada, 2: 282, 1897;.....Paeonia wittmanniana Steven in Bull. Soc. Nat. Moss. 21(3): 275. 1848;.....Paeonia steveniana Kemularia-Nathadze in Trud Tbilisi Bot. Inst. 21: 15. 1961. TYPE: The same as that of Steven’s wittmanniana.
This subspecies was established as a new taxon by Albow (1895) and raised to specific rank by Lomakin (1897) on the basis of larger leaflets. The entity is characterized by larger leaflets and glabrous carpels. However, glabrous carpels also occur in the subspecies wittmanniana and Figure 10 shows that the larger leaflets are only part of the continuous variation of leaflets in size in the complex. We have not found any other character which distinguishes it from the others. The subspecies is confined to the high mountainous area in south-western Georgia (Adjaria, Guria, south Imereti, south-west Kartli and Meskheti) and in north-eastern Turkey at altitudes from (800) 1200 to 2200 m. It grows in deciduous forests or mixed conifer and deciduous broad-leaved forests and also in glades, with no specific soil preference. This subspecies is a tetraploid with the chromosome number 2n = 20..

(2003)  Page(s) 145.  
 
KEY TO SUBSPECIES OF P. DAURICA
1 Leaflets villose and (or) pilose on lower surface or glabrous; oblong or elliptic-oblong; apex rounded, acute to acuminate.
2 Petals yellow or yellowish white, but sometimes red at periphery or with a red spot at base: leaflets always villose or pilose.
3 Carpels and follicles tomentose.
4 Leaflets mostly densely villose or pilose and thus greyish on lower side...... ssp. tomentosa (Lomakin) D. Y. Hong

(2003)  Page(s) 137.  
 
Azerbaijan: Lerik, Orand, Zubu, (Mt. Talysh.), 1170 m Sandstones, pasture with bushes and young trees.... The type locality of P. tomentosa (= P. daurica ssp. tomentosa)

(2003)  Page(s) 148.  
 
Paeonia daurica ssp. tomentosa (Lomakin) D. Y. Hong, stat. nov. = Paeonia wittmanniana Stev. var. tomentosa Lomakin in Trud Tiflis Bot. Sada, 2: 283.1897;.....P. wittmanniana ssp. tomentosa (Lomakin) Busch, Fl. Caucas. Crit. 3(3): 14. 1901. P. tomentosa (Lomakin) Busch in Fomin and Voron.,Opred. Rast. Kavkaza; Kryma, 7. 1919;.....P. corallina var. triternata Boissier, Fl. Orient. 1: 97.1867.....The subspecies is characterized by leaflets nearly always densely covered with villose and/or pilose hairs on the lower surface, petals pale yellow but reddish at the base of a small proportion of individuals, and carpels mostly densely, rarely sparsely, tomentose. It mostly resembles ssp. wittmanniana, but differs from it in having leaflets mostly densely villose or pilose on the lower surface and carpels more or less tomentose. In contrast, ssp. wittmanniana possesses leaflets mostly sparsely villose or pilose and
carpels often glabrous. The two subspecies are geographically isolated by a long distance.
Paeonia daurica ssp. tomentosa is found in the Talysch Mountains of Azerbaijan in the Caucasus and in northern Iran. It grows in deciduous forests with soil derived from sandstone at altitudes from 1100 to 1800 m. We also found this subspecies growing on a pasture with scattered trees or shrubs. Punina (1987,1989) reported that the subspecies had the chromosome number 2n = 20, and thus it is a tetraploid.

(2003)  Page(s) 145.  
 
KEY TO SUBSPECIES OF P. DAURICA
1 Leaflets villose and (or) pilose on lower surface or glabrous; oblong or elliptic-oblong; apex rounded, acute to acuminate.
2 Petals yellow or yellowish white, but sometimes red at periphery or with a red spot at base: leaflets always villose or pilose.
3 Carpels and follicles tomentose.
4 Leaflets usually sparsely villose ........ssp. wittmanniana (Hartwiss ex Lindley) D. Y. Hong
3 Carpels and follicles glabrous or nearly glabrous
5 Leaflets usually sparsely villose .......................ssp. wittmanniana (Hartwiss ex Lindley) D. Y. Hong

(2003)  Page(s) 146.  
 
Paeonia daurica ssp. wittmanniana (Hartwiss ex Lindley) D. Y. Hong, stat. nov. = Paeonia wittmanniana Hartwiss ex. Lindley in Bot. Reg. 32: t 9. 1846....Paeonia abchasica Miscz. ex Grossgeim, Fl. Caucas. 2: 92. 1930;.....This subspecies is found in north-western Georgia (Abchasia, Imereti, Megrelia, Ratsha-Letskhumi and Svaneti) and the adjacent region of Russia (upper reaches of the Mzymta River). It grows in deciduous forests and alpine or subalpine meadows at altitudes of 1000–2300 m. All the available records of herbarium specimens show that it is confined to the limestone areas. Although we were unable to visit localities of this subspecies due to security considerations, a large number of herbarium specimens and live individuals in the Tbilisi and Bakuriani Botanical Gardens in Georgia show that leaflets in this subspecies vary from glabrous to sparsely villose and/or pilose..., carpels from one to three in number and from glabrous and sparsely villose to tomentose, and petals from yellow to yellow with a pink spot at the base. The entity is not sufficiently distinct to allow recognition specific status. This subspecies was reported to be a tetraploid with the chromosome number 2n = 20