Shishi Gasura
A Japanese heirloom first documented in 1841 — one of the oldest named peony-form japonicas still in cultivation, with ancient specimens surviving in western Kansai.
First documented by Yashiro in 1841 in Kokon Yōrankō and further described by Kasuya in 1859 and Itō in 1879, this is one of the oldest continuously cultivated named peony-form japonicas. Tuyama's 1968 Camellias of Japan describes the flowers as pink (Carmine 62½), anemone to peony form, with eight to nine broadly expanded outer petals surrounding a large rounded mass of small erect folded petals and petaloids. The leaves are small and broadly elliptic with slightly impressed venation. Ancient specimens survive in western Kansai. Listed locally as 'Shishi Gasura' and registered as 'Shishigashira.' Source: International Camellia Register.