What is the difference between Chinese peony and tree peony? A quick guide to telling the two apart

Many friends cannot tell Chinese peony and tree peony apart. Below we introduce the differences between Chinese peony and tree peony, and show you how to distinguish them.

The difference between Chinese peony and tree peony

I. A brief introduction to Chinese peony

Chinese peony, also known as Jiangli or Licao, is a perennial herbaceous flower of the order Ranunculales, family Ranunculaceae, genus Paeonia. Its roots are thick and sturdy, with dark brown branches. Over the course of a year, as the climate rhythm changes, the Chinese peony plant undergoes phased developmental changes. These mainly appear as alternating growth and dormancy periods. In Northeast China it is distributed on hillside grasslands and in forests at an altitude of 480-700 m, while in other provinces it is distributed on hillside grasslands at an altitude of 1000-2300 m.

II. A brief introduction to tree peony

Tree peony is a plant of the family Ranunculaceae, genus Paeonia, and is a perennial deciduous small shrub. Its flowers are brilliantly colored, jade-like in beauty and pearly in fragrance, elegant and unrestrained, magnificent and splendid, and it has long enjoyed the reputation of "king of flowers." Among cultivated types, it can be divided into hundreds of varieties mainly according to flower color. "Tree peony has a great many varieties and also many colors; yellow, green, flesh red, deep red and silver red are considered superior, with yellow and green especially prized. Tree peony flowers are large and fragrant, hence it is also known as 'national beauty and heavenly fragrance.'"

III. The differences between the two

The biggest difference between tree peony and Chinese peony lies in:

1. Distinguish by branch or stem: tree peony is a shrub with woody stems, while Chinese peony is a herbaceous perennial with leathery stems;

2. Distinguish by leaves: tree peony leaves are broad and thick, green on the upper side with a slight yellowish tinge, while Chinese peony leaves are narrow and thin;

3. Distinguish by flowers: tree peony flowers are borne at the tips of flowering branches, with a flower diameter generally around 20 cm; while Chinese peony flowers are solitary at the branch tip or near the leaf axil at the tip, with a flower diameter of 15 cm.

The difference between tree peony and Chinese peony:

1. The most fundamental difference: tree peony is a woody plant that can grow to 2 m tall, while Chinese peony is a short (perennial tuberous-rooted) herbaceous plant no taller than 1 m.

2. Blooming period: tree peony blooms earlier than Chinese peony. Tree peony generally blooms in mid-to-late April, while Chinese peony blooms in early-to-mid May. The difference in their blooming periods is about 15 days, commonly called "driving the tree peony to death." Tree peony blooms in late spring in the third month, and Chinese peony blooms in late spring and early summer, hence the saying "watch tree peony three mornings after Grain Rain, watch Chinese peony three shines after Start of Summer."

3. Flower shape: tree peony flowers are borne at the tips of flowering branches, mostly solitary and terminal. The flower diameter is generally around 20 cm, and some can reach 30 cm; while Chinese peony flowers are borne one or several at the branch tip or in leaf axils, with a flower diameter of around 15 cm, blooming about one month later than tree peony, hence the saying "watch tree peony on the morning of Grain Rain, watch Chinese peony on the morning of Start of Summer."

4. Leaves: tree peony leaves are broad and large, alternate, green on the upper side and slightly yellowish on the underside, hairless, with a white bloom on the back, while Chinese peony has simple leaves near the flowers, with narrower leaves that are more glossy, dark green on both sides and relatively densely arranged.

5. Stems: the stem of tree peony is woody; it is a perennial shrub, thick and sturdy with many branches, and after leaf fall the aboveground part does not die, so tree peony is also called "wooden Chinese peony"; the stem of Chinese peony is herbaceous, and it is a perennial herbaceous flower with persistent roots, and after leaf fall the aboveground part dies. Therefore Chinese peony is also called "boneless flower" (a perennial herbaceous plant with persistent roots; at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter of that year the aboveground part dies, and the underground rhizome can still grow new plants again the next year; this kind of flower is called "boneless flower").

6. Tree peony has richer flower colors than Chinese peony.

7. Tree peony is called the king of flowers. Chinese peony is called the minister of flowers.