The family of paeoniaceae

Botanists originally ranged the peony among the family of ranunculaceae. The common buttercup in our gardens and meadows gave its name to this family, which contains among others clematis, hellebores, larkspur, monkshood, anemones, winter aconite.

Since 1950 the peonies form an independent family, paeoniaceae; the reason being that their stamens develop from inside to outside, whereas the ranunculaceae have stamens that develop from outside to inside.

Distribution chart of peonies

The paeoniaceae grow all over the northern hemisphere. There are wild peonies in the north west of Africa, in Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Greece, and the Caucasus as well as in Central Asia and Japan. Even in North America, in the states of Oregon, Idaho, and California, peonies can be found which might almost be called living fossils. Wild tree peonies, however, occur exclusively in China.

Herbaceous and tree peonies

As can be seen in the title, there are not only herbaceous but tree peonies as well. There is a simple difference: Herbaceous peonies die back in winter and sprout again in spring from new buds that lie in the ground.

Tree peonies develop a wooden stem and behave like shrubs. Both kinds of peony may reach a great age. Approximately 50 herbaceous and 15 tree peonies of various forms can be found in their natural habitat, from the small Paeonia tenuifolia with its bright red flowers and its leaves which are divided into filiform segments, a bit like artemisia, to the shrub of Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii with its lush foliage and its fragrant yellow flowers. This shrub may grow 2 metres high with a spread of 3 metres.

Die Wissenschaft hat sich noch nicht auf eine verbindliche Nomenklatur geeinigt, und aus Asien werden immer wieder Funde neuer Wildarten gemeldet.

		Bud of a herbaceous peony (Lactiflora group) Foto: W. Good
		Bud of a tree peony (Suffruticosa group) Foto: W. Good
		Leave of a herbaceous peony [Paeonia 'Honor' (Herbaceous hybrid)] Foto: W. Good
		Leave of a tree peony [Paeonia 'Gauguin' (Lutea hybrid)] Foto: W. Good
		Flower bud of a herbaceous peony [Paeonia lactiflora 'Bev' (Lactiflora group)] Foto: W. Good
		Flower bud of a tree peony [Paeonia 'Gauguin' (Lutea hybrid)] Foto: W. Good
		Flower of a herbaceous peony (Paeonia wittmanniana var. macrophylla) Foto: W. Good
		Flower of a tree peony (Paeonai yananensis) Foto: Prof. Hong Tao
		Seeds of a wild herbaceous peony. the dark black and blueish coloured seeds are fertil, the red ones are not fertil. Foto: W. Good
		Seeds of tree peonies (cultivars of the Suffruticosa group) Foto: W. Good
		Seeds of tree peonies (cultivars of the Suffruticosa group) Foto: W. Good

Back