Paeonia emodi Royle

Herbs perennial, to 70 cm tall. Stems glabrous. Proximal leaves 2-ternate; some leaflets segmented; leaflets and segments up to 15, oblong-elliptic or oblong-lanceolate, 9--13 × 2--3.5 cm, both surfaces glabrous, base cuneate, decurrent, apex acuminate. Flowers 2--4 per shoot, both terminal and axillary, single, 8--12 cm wide, all or only terminal one fully developed. Bracts 3--6, leaflike, lanceolate. Sepals ca. 3, suborbicular, ca. 1.5 × 1.5 cm, apex caudate. Petals white, obovate, ca. 4.5 × 2.4 cm. Filaments 1.5--2 cm. Disc annular. Carpel 1(or 2), pale yellow tomentose, rarely glabrous. Follicles ovoid, 2--3.5 × 1--2 cm. Seeds black, globose. Fl. May--Jun, fr. Aug--Sep.

It grows in scrub and forest between 1800-2500 metres in western China. It can grow in a range of soils but cannot tolerate waterlogging nor very dry conditions. It does best with light shade. Plants can withstand frost.

The young shoots are eaten cooked. They can be sun-dried and stored for later use.

Plants can be grown from seed and it is best to use fresh seed and stored seed germinates very slowly. Plants do not tolerate root disturbance. Transplanting of multiplying plants by division of the roots must be done very carefully.