Please answer, is this a peony or a peony?

Pop quiz! What flower does the English word "peony" refer to? Peony or peony?

Source: Online Dictionary

Whether you figured it out yourself or saw the correct answer, in short, the word "peony" in English means both "peony" and "peony". If it is further subdivided, peony will be called "Chinese peony". In fact, in English and other European languages, peony and peony are actually the same word, and there is no scientific difference.

During the May Day holiday, large and elegant flowers bloomed all over Beijing. During this period, peonies and peonies in major parks and botanical gardens bloomed, attracting the attention of many tourists and citizens.

We all know that peonies and herbaceous peonies look very similar, and there is not much difference if you only look at the flowers. So how do you correctly distinguish these two flowers?

No-stream version:

Peony is a shrub, which belongs to woody plants, while peony is a herbaceous plant . If you want to distinguish them, just pay attention to whether they are herbaceous or woody.

Next, let’s talk about these two plants in detail.

1

What is the relationship between peony and peonies?

As usual, let’s start with a taxonomic perspective. Peonies and peonies are actually very closely related, they both belong to the Saxifragales, Paeoniaceae , and even to the same genus Paeonia , so it’s no wonder that people think they look so similar.

The Saxifragales is an interesting group of plants that includes a very diverse range of forms, including annual and perennial herbs such as Saxifraga, shrubs such as Aphanopetalum, trees such as Liquidambar, succulents such as the famous Crassulaceae, parasites such as Cynomorium, and even aquatic plants such as Foxtail Algae (Myriophyllum).

Alocasia odora

Source: Wikipedia/Bouba

Of course, to analyze the relationship between peony and herbaceous peony, we need to subdivide the genus Paeonia. This genus can also be divided into Sect . Paeonia, Sect. Onaepia and Sect . Moutan. Yes, here we can finally see the difference between peony and herbaceous peony in classification.

2

How to distinguish between peony and herbaceous peony?

The flower shapes and leaves of peonies and peony are very similar. As mentioned earlier, the easiest way to distinguish between peonies and peony is to see whether the plant is herbaceous or woody.

In addition to this intuitive method, the flowering time of peony is slightly earlier than that of peony . Generally, peony can be seen blooming in mid-to-late April to early May, while peony blooms later, around mid-to-early May, with a difference of about half a month between the two. There is a proverb that says "Watch peonies three days after Grain Rain, and watch peonies three days after Beginning of Summer". This means that peonies usually bloom around Grain Rain, while peony flowers bloom at Beginning of Summer.

Left: Peony Right: Peony

Source: Wikipedia/663highland, Ulf Eliasson

In addition, the woody stems of peonies are relatively firm, while the stems of peony species appear softer; the leaves of peonies are more rounded in shape, and the front ends of the leaves are usually cracked, while the leaves of peony species are more slender and the front ends of the leaves are not split; the positions of the flowers are also different, the pedicels of peonies are shorter and usually bloom in the middle of the leaves, while the pedicels of peony species are longer and generally higher than the leaf clusters.

Peony

Source丨Editor

In addition, peonies have more flower shapes and colors than peonies . Of course, the easiest way is still what we mentioned earlier, to see whether it is herbaceous or woody.

3

"Flower King" and "Flower Mirror"

In folklore, peony is always considered the best among flowers and is called the "king of flowers", while peony is ranked second and is appointed as the "flower minister". How did this saying come about? We can see such a record in Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica:

"Among all the peony species, the red one is the best. Although it bears fruit, it also has seedlings growing on the roots, so it is called peony. The Tang people called it wood peony because its flower resembles peony and its trunk resembles wood. Among all the flowers, peony is the best and peony is the second best, so people call peony the king of flowers and peony the minister of flowers."

Peonies in the Forbidden City, Beijing

Source丨Editor

Earlier, in the Tang Dynasty's Shennong's Herbal Classic, the peony, then known as "wood peony", had already been known as the "king of flowers". Many court maids in the Tang Dynasty also considered it beautiful to wear a peony on their heads. It is very likely that the title of King of Flowers was related to the Tang Dynasty court's love for this flower.

In ancient times, peony and herbaceous peony were once "one family", and the two flowers were once collectively called "peony". **People at that time called peony "wood peony" and herbaceous peony "fire peony" according to the characteristics of woody plants. **The official "separation" of these two flowers had to wait until the Tang Dynasty. "Youyang Miscellaneous" records: "There is no mention of peony in prehistory. ... Checking the 70 volumes of "Planting Methods" of the Sui Dynasty, peony was not mentioned at first, so it is known that it was not mentioned in the flower medicine of the Sui Dynasty." This means that there was no peony in the history before the Sui Dynasty, so the name peony should also come from the Tang Dynasty.

The history of peony appreciation is much longer. As early as the pre-Qin period, there were records of lovers giving each other peony flowers. For example, in the "Zheng Feng·Zhin Wei" in the "Book of Songs", it is mentioned "The man and the woman, they joked with each other and gave each other peonies." This poem talks about the scene of young men and women of Zheng State outing in the spring on the banks of the Qin and Wei rivers during the Shangsi Festival in March. If the girl and the boy were in love with each other, they would give each other peonies.

Think about the beautiful sentiment of the ancients who gave each other flowers during their spring outings. Do you also want to buy a beautiful peony and take it home to give to your loved one?