What do peonies look like?

Peony, also known as rat aunt, deer leek, white antler, wood peony, hundred rain gold, Luoyang flower, Fugui flower and so on, is a small perennial deciduous shrub of Paeonia lactiflora, with bright color, jade smile and pearl fragrance, elegant and magnificent, known as "king of flowers". In the cultivation type, it can be divided into hundreds of varieties mainly according to the color of the flowers. It has been widely cultivated in China and has long been introduced to all parts of the world, with a wealth of relevant cultural and painting works.

The peony stem is up to 2 meters high and the branches are short and thick. Leaves usually 2-Ternate, occasionally 3-foliolate near the top of branches, terminal leaflet broadly ovate, 7-8 cm long and 5.5-7 cm wide, 3-lobed to middle, lobes undivided or 2-lobed, surface green, glabrous, abaxially light green, sometimes powdery, sparsely pubescent or subglabrous along veins, petiolule 1.2-3 cm long, lateral leaflets narrowly ovate or oblong-ovate. 4.5 × 6.5 cm long and 2.5 × 4 cm wide, unequally 2-lobed to 3-lobed or undivided, subsessile, petiole 5 × 11 cm long, and leaf rachis glabrous.

Peony solitary branch apical, 10-17 cm in diameter, pedicel 4-6 cm long, bracts 5, long elliptic, unequal in size, sepals 5, green, broadly ovate, varying in size, petals 5, or double, rose, reddish purple, pink to white, usually variable, Obovate, 5-8 cm long, 4.2-6 cm wide, irregular wave at the top, stamens 1-1.7 cm long Filaments purplish red, pink, white distally, ca. 1.3 cm, anthers oblong, 4 mm long, disk leathery, cup-shaped, purplish red, apical with several sharp teeth or lobes, completely enclosing carpels, dehiscing at maturity, carpels 5, more sparse, densely pilose. Cymbals oblong, densely yellowish brown hirsute. Flowering in May and fruiting in June.

Peony like warm, cool, dry, sunny environment, like sunshine, but also resistant to semi-shade, cold, drought, weak alkali, avoid stagnant water, afraid of heat, afraid of direct sunlight. It is suitable to grow in loose, deep, fertile, high-dry, well-drained neutral sandy soil, but not in acidic or clayey soil. Sufficient sunlight is beneficial to its growth, but it is not resistant to hot summer sun exposure. When the temperature is above 25 ℃, the plant will be dormant.

Peony is particularly rich in resources in China. According to the investigation of the special team of the National Flower Office of China Peony Competition and Evaluation, China's Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, New, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Fujian, Anhui, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Jilin, Hainan, South, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other places have peony planting, generally divided into wild species, semi-wild species and horticultural cultivation types. The largest and most concentrated peony cultivation areas in China are Heze, Luoyang, Pengzhou, Beijing, Linxia, Tongling County and so on.

Peony is an inherent specialty flower in China, with thousands of years of natural growth and more than two thousand years of artificial cultivation history. Its large flowers, beautiful shape, colorful and fragrant, are praised by people of all ages, and have high ornamental and medicinal value. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, medicinal plants have been included in the Classic of Shennong Materia Medica, scattered in all kinds of ancient books. Peony culture is compatible with many sciences, and its composition is very extensive, including philosophy, religion, literature, art, education, customs, public feelings and other cultural fields.