Rock's Peony

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Rock's Peony

Paeonia rockii flower

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Paeoniaceae
Genus:	Paeonia
Species:	P. rockii

Binomial name

Paeonia rockii
(S.G.Haw & Lauener) T.Hong & J.J.Li

Rock's Peony (Paeonia rockii; also called tree peony) is a woody species of peony, named after Joseph Rock. It is native to the mountains of western China, mainly in Gansu and adjoining provinces. In Chinese, it is known as 牡丹 (pinyin: mǔ dān) or 牡丹皮 (pinyin: mǔ dān pí), and its flower is called 牡丹花 (pinyin: mǔ dān huā). It became the unofficial national flower of China following a nationwide referendum in 1994 [1].

[edit] Uses

This tree peony is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is very frost hardy and resistant to fungal diseases, and is grown in Europe, particularly in northern countries, such as Sweden and Finland. In Germany it is the most hardy tree peony species.

Like Paeonia lactiflora, another Chinese peony species, it is used as a herbal remedy in traditional Chinese medicine [2].

[edit] Rockii-hybrids

Tree peony hybrids including Paeonia rockii as one parent are called Rockii-hybrids. In China there are several cultivar groups of these hybrids, called Gansu Mudan and Zhongyuan Mudan, or North-West Chinese cultivar group. The European-grown Suffruticosa Group (Paeonia × suffruticosa) also belongs here.