Biological Characteristics of Peony

• Plants of Peony

Tree peony (Mudan) is an shrub flower, and herbaceous peony (Shaoyao) is a herbaceous flower. The plant of tree peony is commonly made up of roots, permanent woody branches, leaves, flowers and seeds. The plant of herbaceous peony is generally made up of perennial roots, annual herbaceous stems, leaves, flowers and seeds. But in fact  many of varieties of peony have not any seeds.

• Plant Types

I. Plant Types of Tree Peony

Tree peony plants naturally form a thicket of stems from ground level. Because of the differences in angular divergence of branches, length between branches nodes, and yearly growth of new shoots, the forms and heights of plants vary. They are categorised as follows.

There are three types:

A. Erect Type: The branches spread straight upward forming small angles generally less than 30^o. The distance between nodes on the annual shoots is comparatively long. Because of the rapid and vigorous growth, the plant thickets are tall and upright.

B. Expanding Type: The branches expand out diagonally forming angles between 50^o and 60^o,so that the plant width is significantly greater than its height. Because of the slower rate of growth, the length between branch nodes is shorter and the overall yearly growth is smaller. Its stout thicket is appropriate for pot planted.

C. Semi-Expanding Type; The angular divergence of branches, the distance between nodes and yearly branch productivity in this type are all intermediate between the Previous two types. Since the branches grow at a slant, a semi-expanding plant thicket is produced.

II. Plant Types of Herbaceous Peony

The annual stems of herbaceous peony display mainly their plant pattern in the florescence. There are upright, the other are inclined or lateral. In the other growth period, their stems are upright. The height of herbaceous peonies is about between 60cm to 130cm. There are three types, based on the height of clump stems.

Tall Type: plant height greater than 100cm

Medium Type: plant height between 71 and 100cm.

Dwarf Type: plant height less than 70cm.

• Plant Heights of Tree Peony

Tall Type: plant height greater than 80cm

Medium Type: plant height between 40 and 80cm.

Dwarf Type: plant height less than 40cm.

The plant grows from 1.2m to 2.5m in maturity (15 to 20 years).

• Wild Species of Peony

Chinese Peony, tree peony and herbaceous peony are very beautiful plant originating in China. Their features are huge flowers, intense fragrance, various colours and great varieties. Chinese peonies take first place among the flowers of the world in terms of their properties, range of flower forms, ancestral species, degree of development, adaptability, and also cultivation history.

• Wild Species of Tree Peony (Peaonia suffruticosa)

The species that up the Mudan, or tree peony, section of the genus Paeonia all originate in China. So far 9 wild species have been discovered. They are Paeonia suffruticosa (Mudan, alias Jishan Mudan or Ai Mudan), P. qiui (Lunye Mudan), P. ostii (Yangshan Mudan), P. Rockii (Ziban Mudan), P. szechuanica or P. decomposita (Sichuan Mudan), P. delavayi (Zi Mudan), P. lutea (Huang Mudan), P. potaninii (Xiaye Mudan), and P. ludilowii (Dahua Huang Mudan).

• Wild Species of Herbaceous Peony (Peaonia lactiflora)

The another section of the genus Paeonia, Shaoyao or herbaceous peony, there are 24 species in the world, and 9 species of them are in China. They are Paenia obovata (Cao Shaoyao), P. mairei (Meili Shaoyao, alias Jianban Shaoyao), P. lactiflora (Shaoyao), P. emodi (Duohua Shaoyao), P.sterniana (Baihua Shaoyao), P. veitchii (Chuan Chi Shaoyao), P. sinjiangensis (Xinjiang Shaoyao), P. anomala (Kuaigen Shaoyao), and P. wittmanniana (Chuan-E Shaoyao) etc.

• Wild Species of Tree Peony (Peaonia suffruticosa)
• Wild Species of Herbaceous Peony (Peaonia lactiflora)

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