P. officinalis Rubra Plena. Species: P. officinalis. History: Origin very ancient, doubtful. DESCRIPTION IN BRIEF: Bomb, amarante red, very early, good. DESCRIPTION IN DETAIL: Bomb type, the typical old double red of our grandmothers’ gardens. They usually have carpels which are woolly, but well concealed, foliaceous bracts directly under the flower, no stamens or anthers. Color amarante red 4(168), even throughout. Size medium to large. Odor neutral to unpleasant. Foliage glabrous above, pilose beneath, margins entire and green — typical officinalis foliage.
Carsten Burkhardt: “The precise classification of herbaceous peonies in this group is problematic, as many cultivars identified as Paeonia officinalis in the 20th century are actually descendants of Paeonia peregrina. Until the 1930s, all peregrina types were also referred to as Paeonia officinalis. I doubt that a large part of this group has anything to do with Paeonia officinalis at all—starting with the well-known common garden peony ‘Officinalis Rubra Plena,’ which is either a cultivar of Paeonia peregrina or (more likely) a hybrid of Paeonia peregrina and another wild species, perhaps Paeonia officinalis.”
