• You are here:
• Full Key
• All other flowering non-woody plants
• All other herbaceous, flowering dicots
• Paeonia officinalis

Paeonia officinalis — common peony

Facts

Common peony is a garden plant native to southern Europe and introduced in North America where it is beloved as a very showy garden plant. In New England, it has been collected in Massachusetts and Vermont, as it rarely escapes the garden. It grows best in semi-shade. Its leaves are divided, with smooth edges (as opposed to the Chinese peony, which has finely serrated leaves). Look for harmless ants crowding its flower buds, which exude sugary nectar. These ants are called "honeypot ants" (the species is Prenolepis imparis); the workers can store the nectar in their swollen abdomens and feed it later to their sisters in the colony).

Habitat

Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats), meadows and fields

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Bulbils

  the plant does not appear to have bulbils

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

• Flowers

  Anther spurs

  the anthers do not have spurs on them

  Calyx symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the calyx (the calyx is radially symmetrical)

  Carpels fused

  the carpel is solitary or (if 2 or more) the carpels are not fused to one another

  Cleistogamous flowers

  there are no cleistogamous flowers on the plan

  Corolla palate

  no

  Corona lobe length

  0 mm

  Epicalyx

  the flower does not have an epicalyx

  Flower description

  the flower has a superior ovary and a hypanthium

  Flower petal color

  • other
  • pink to red
  • white

  Flower reproductive parts

  the flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Flower symmetry

  there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)

  Flowers sunken into stem

  no

  Fusion of sepals and petals

  both the petals and sepals are separate and not fused

  Horns in hoods (Asclepias)

  NA

  Inner tepals (Rumex)

  NA

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of carpels

  1

  Number of pistils

  • 1
  • 6 or more

  Number of styles

  1–15

  Ovary position

  the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal and sepal colors

  • other
  • pink to red
  • white

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal hairs (Viola)

  NA

  Petal number

  At least 4

  Petal tips (Cuscuta)

  NA

  Scales inside corolla

  no

  Sepal and petal color

  the sepals are different from the petals

  Sepal appendages

  the sepals do not have appendages on them

  Sepal appendages (Oenothera)

  NA

  Sepal number

  At least 2

  Stamen attachment

  the stamens are not attached to the petals or tepals

  Stamen number

  13 or more

  Stamen position relative to petals

  NA

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are not attached to one another

  Stigma position

  • the stigmas are positioned at the tip of the style
  • the stigmas are positioned on the inner surface of the style

  Umbel flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Upper lip of bilabiate corolla

  NA

• Fruits or seeds

  Achene relative orientation

  NA

  Achene surface (Polygonum)

  NA

  Achene type

  NA

  Capsule color (Viola)

  NA

  Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence

  NA

  Fruit features (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Fruit length

  20–35 mm

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a follicle (has one ovary that splits along one side to release the seeds)

  Hair type on fruit

  • NA
  • the hairs on the fruits appear tangled or woolly

  Hairs on fruit

  the fruits have hairs on them

  Legumes (Fabaceae)

  NA

  Mericarp length

  0 mm

  Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)

  NA

  Other markings on berry

  NA

  Placenta arrangement

  marginal

  Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit compression

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit segments

  0

  Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Wings on fruit

  the fruit does not have wings on it

  prickles on fruits

  the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures

• Glands or sap

  Glands on leaf blade

  the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is clear and watery

  Sap color

  the sap is clear

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Parasitism

  the plant is not parasitic

  Plant color

  the leaves or young stems of the plant are green

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  there is a thickened taproot on the plant

• Leaves

  Bracteole number (Apiaceae)

  0

  Bracts in plantain (Plantago)

  NA

  Hairs on underside of leaf

  the underside of the leaf is fuzzy or hairy

  Hairs on upper side of leaf

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct leaf stalk (petiole)

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is orbicular (roughly circular, as wide as long)
  • the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have leaf stalks

  Leaf teeth and lobes

  • the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
  • the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis

  Leaf type

  the leaves are compound (made up of two or more discrete leaflets

  Leaf variation

  the leaves are nearly similar in size, prominence of teeth, and length of stalks throughout the stem

  Leaves per node

  there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Pinnately compound leaf type

  the pinnately compound leaves have a terminal leaflet (and usually have an odd number of leaflets per axis)

  Specific leaf type

  the leaf has a row of two or more lobes on each side of the central axis

  Stipule features

  NA

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Massachusetts
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • man-made or disturbed habitats
  • meadows or fields

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Branched tendrils

  NA

  Hair between stem nodes

  the stem has hairs between the nodes

  Hairs between stem nodes

  the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled

  Plant height

  60–70 cm

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright or angled outwards

  Stem spacing

  the plant is solitary, or a few plants are growing together

  Tendril origin

  NA

  Tendrils

  the plant does not have tendrils

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae