Woohoo! It’s another Flower Friday around here and today, we’ve got a really special one for you!
Peony, more rarely spelled paeony, is somewhat unique in its taxonomy. Peony is the only member within the family of Paeoniaceae and it is currently comprised of around 35 defined species. There is some disagreement about that exact number, but the difficulty has been in defining unique traits that would exclusively define further species. Despite this relatively small number of unique peony species, there are well over 7,000 recognized cultivars of peony!
Peony are exclusively found within the northern hemisphere, typically preferring temperate and colder northern climates. You can find native peony species in most northern countries, with the southern-most species occupying places like Turkey, Spain, Pakistan and California. (All roughly equivalent in latitude to California.) There are both herbaceous and tree-like species of peony.
In most regions, peony produce their flowers in late spring. Alaska is in a very unique position within the peony export market since our cool northern temperatures and long daylight tend to push flower development into mid-to-late summer. For this reason, Peony is an emerging and increasingly popular export market for Alaskan growers. Our region heavily supplies the global peony market (typically for weddings and cut flowers) with late season peonies.
Herbaceous peony are largely replicated by root division. While growing them from seed is possible, root division techniques tend to be more reliable and commonly used. Most herbaceous peony species will die back beneath the soil each winter, producing a new stem each season. Peony generally prefer well draining and fertile soils. Also, the flower should be kept very well watered during flower production for best results.
Among flowers, peony are some of the longest celebrated. Their cultivation and use is known to have occurred as far back as the Song Dynasty, between 960AD and 1279AD, and is also a popular symbol used in Chinese art. Early paintings of peony have been traced back to the Middle Ages. Closer to home, Indiana’s state flower is the Peony, which was declared by their state general assembly in 1957.
Although peony doesn’t hold strong demand in culinary circles, most species of peony feature edible flowers, seeds and roots. Peony likely saw its peak for culinary demand during early Chinese and Middle Age cultures, where a private peony patch was often a sign of affluence. Peony was most typically used as a flavoring agent or garnish in most cases. Today, the most popular culinary use for peony is in jams or jellies, or much more rarely, a peony inspired cocktail.
Medicinally speaking, peony is a powerful and molecularly active flower, featuring over 250 unique bioactive compounds. The most common medical uses are based around the peony root. The root is often ground into an herb, perhaps unoriginally also called peony. In Chinese medicine, you’ll see it called Bai Shao. There are two major types of peony herb, red and white peony, also unoriginally named because of the root’s primary color.
Peony has been studied somewhat extensively in medical circles and shows promising activity as an antioxidant, antitumor, antipathogen and features compounds that can benefit both the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Peony has multiple medical studies showing favorable results in the treatment of coughs, pain and swelling, blood clots, anxiety, hyperpigmentation and even some autoimmune disorders. Given its wide bioactivity, it likely has a very large range of medicinal uses. While western medicine doesn’t heavily value peony, eastern Chinese medicine has recognized the importance of peony for thousands of years.
We love our few peony flowers and would love to increase their numbers in our gardens. They are somewhat expensive, but they are a reliable northern perennial that are well worth growing. They can flower for many dozens of seasons (once they have a couple years to acclimate) and are a stellar flower to have in the northern garden! Happy Friday, everyone!
