peony

/pee"euh nee/, n., pl. peonies.

any of various plants or shrubs of the genus Paeonia, having large, showy flowers, as the widely cultivated species P. lactiflora: the state flower of Indiana.

[bef. 1000; ME < LL peonia, L paeonia < Gk paionía peony, akin to Paián PAEAN; r. ME pione < AF < OF peone < L; r. OE peonie < LL, L, as above]

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Any of about 33 species of flowering plants in the genus Paeonia, sole genus of the family Paenoiaceae, found in Europe, Asia, and western North America and known for their large, showy blossoms.

Herbaceous peonies are perennials that grow to about 3 ft (1 m). Their annual stems bear large, glossy, much-divided leaves and produce large single and double flowers of white, pink, rose, and deep crimson. Tree peonies are shrubs about 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) high with permanent rootstocks and woody stems that bear flowers varying in colour from white to lilac, violet, and red.

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▪ plant

      any of the flowering plants in the genus Paeonia (family Paeoniaceae) known for their large, showy blossoms. All but two species are native to Europe and Asia; P. browni and P. californica are found along the Pacific coastal mountains of North America.

      There are two distinct groups of peonies: the herbaceous and the tree, or moutan, peonies. The herbaceous peonies are perennials that grow to a height of almost 1 m (about 3 feet) and have large, glossy, much-divided leaves borne on annual stems produced by fleshy rootstocks. In late spring and early summer they produce large single and double flowers of white, pink, rose, and deep-crimson colour. The fragrant Chinese P. lactiflora and the European common peony (P. officinalis) have given rise to most of the familiar garden peonies. P. lactiflora has provided hundreds of cultivated varieties, including the Japanese types, with one or two rows of petals surrounding a cluster of partially formed petals in the centre (petaloid stamens).

      The tree peonies have developed from the wild Chinese species P. suffruticosa. They are shrubby, with permanent woody stems. The plants sometimes attain a height of 1.2 to 1.8 m (about 4 to 6 feet); they begin flowering in late spring. The blossoms vary in colour from white to lilac, violet, and red. Tree peonies require a hot, dry summer season for best growth, and they can be grafted in late summer or autumn on the roots of herbaceous peonies. A race of hybrids, developed by crossing the tree peony with the yellow Chinese P. lutea, has both single and double flowers, sometimes tinged with red. Many varieties have been grafted onto supportive rootstock and so cannot be readily propagated by simple division. Peonies are seldom grown from seeds except in breeding programs; the seed takes about two years to germinate.

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