Balkan Peony

Paeonia peregrina is a Balkan species native to south-eastern Europe, distributed from Italy, Albania, Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania to Turkey (Anatolia) and Moldova. It is a common species found in arid, rocky areas, at the edge of forests or meadows and, less commonly, in grasses. It is usually found in the shade of broad-leaved deciduous forests, pine forests or mixed forests.

Peregrina, comes from the Latin peregrīnus (foreigner), from peregrē (to be abroad). Paeonia, comes from Ancient Greek: paiōnía (παιωνία), related to paiṓnios (healing) and paiôn (physician), as Paiā́npaean. According to Homer, Paean was the physician of the Olympian gods, considered by Hesiod as an individual deity who "knows the remedies for all things". After the period of Homer and Hesiod, the word Paean become an epithet of Apollo and later of Asclepius, son of Apollo, the god-healer.