Tree peony

{{Short description|Section of plants in genus Paeonia}} {{further|Peony#Cultivation}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Paeonia rockii 2015 G1.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Single flower of Rock's peony | taxon = Paeonia sect. Moutan | authority = DC | type_species = | type_species_authority = | subdivision_ranks = Subsections | subdivision_ref = <ref name="Hong"/><ref name="Zhou"/><ref name="Ji"/> | subdivision = *''Delavayana'' *''Vaginatae'' | synonyms = | synonyms_ref = }}

[[File:Flickr - brewbooks - i110405 043.jpg|thumb|Tree peony hybrid 'Maxime Cornu' of the ''P.'' × ''lemoinei'' group, is a hybrid between subsection ''Delavayana'' (''P. delavayi'') and subsection ''Vaginatae'' (''P. suffruticosa'' 'La Ville de Saint-Denis').]] '''Tree peony''' is the vernacular name for the section ''Moutan'' of the plant genus ''Paeonia'', or one of the species or cultivars belonging to this section. It consists of shrubs that have perennial aerial woody stems. Other peonies do not have perennial woody stems, but their stems die back after the growing season, to emerge again from buds just below the surface early in the following year. Tree peonies have been in culture in China for millennia, and it is likely that hybrids came into being in gardens, where different wild tree peony species were planted closely together. They are used in China both for medicine and as an ornamental, particularly the hybrids called ''Paeonia suffruticosa''. These hybrids in particular, but other tree peonies too, are called ''mǔdān'' ({{lang|zh|牡丹}}) in China.

==Taxonomy== Two subsections are recognised within the section ''Moutan'': ''Delavayana'' and ''Vaginatae''.<ref name="Hong">{{cite journal|first1= D.-Y.|last1= Hong|first2= K.-Y.|last2= Pan|year= 1999|title= A revision of the ''Paeonia suffruticosa'' complex (Paeoniaceae)|journal= Nordic Journal of Botany|volume= 19|issue= 3|pages= 289–299|doi=10.1111/j.1756-1051.1999.tb01115.x}}</ref><ref name="Zhou">{{cite journal|first1= Shi-Liang|last1= Zhou|first2= Xin-Hui|last2= Zou|first3= Zhi-Qin|last3= Zhou|first4= Jing|last4= Liu|first5= Chao|last5= Xu|first6= Jing|last6= Yu|first7= Qiang|last7= Wang|first8= Da-Ming|last8= Zhang|first9= Xiao-Quan|last9= Wang|first10= Song|last10= Ge|first11= Tao|last11= Sang|first12= Kai-Yu|last12= Pan|first13= De-Yuan|last13= Hong|year= 2014|title= Multiple species of wild tree peonies gave rise to the 'king of flowers', ''Paeonia suffruticosa'' Andrews|journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B|volume= 281|issue= 1797|article-number= 20141687|doi=10.1098/rspb.2014.1687|pmid= 25377453|pmc= 4240985}}</ref><ref name="Ji">{{cite journal|first1= Li-Jing|last1= Ji|first2= Qi|last2= Wang|first3= Jaime A.|last3= Texeira da Silva|first4= Xiao Nan|last4= Yu|year= 2012|title= The genetic diversity of ''Paeonia'' L.|journal= Scientia Horticulturae|volume= 143|pages= 62–74|doi=10.1016/j.scienta.2012.06.011|doi-access= free}}</ref>

Species assigned to the section ''Moutan'' are: {| border="0" cellpadding="05" valign="top |subsection ''Delavayana'' *''Paeonia delavayi'' *''Paeonia ludlowii'' |subsection ''Vaginatae'' *''Paeonia cathayana'' *''Paeonia decomposita'' *''Paeonia jishanensis'' *''Paeonia ostii'' *''Paeonia qiui'' *''Paeonia rockii'' *''Paeonia rotundiloba'' |}

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Peonies Category:Garden plants