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Tree Peony
Paeonia suffruticosa
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A deciduous shrub native to China, also called the 'king of flowers.' Large, magnificent blooms open in April–May in diverse cultivar colors including white, crimson, and purple. Introduced to Japan in the Nara period, it is deeply rooted in Japanese horticultural culture.
Identification Points
- ✓Flowers large, 15–20 cm across, with numerous petals
- ✓Leaves biternate; leaflet tips shallowly 2–3-lobed
- ✓Deciduous shrub with woody stems (unlike herbaceous Paeonia lactiflora)
Habitat
Gardens, parks, and temples/shrines
Season
April–May (flowers)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Growth form
Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf dissection
Dissected
Habitat
Cultivated
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Venation
Palmate
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Fused
Stipules
Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Ovary position
Superior
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Compound type
Ternate
Stamen count
3-4
Phylogenetic Positionボタン科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Saxifragales > Paeoniaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 70 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Paeoniaceae is a monotypic family (single genus) in Ranunculales; Paeonia has an independent evolutionary history with remarkable floral diversity.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
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