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Paeonia emodi
Paeonia emodi is a tall, robust perennial herbaceous peony from the Himalayan region with large white flowers and deeply cut leaves. It grows best in warm temperate climates, and it is a parent of the popular hybrid 'White Innocence'.
Paeonia emodi is a robust herbaceous perennial plant that winters with buds underground (a hemicryptophyte), has large white flowers and large, deeply incised leaves. It belongs to the family Paeoniaceae. Its local vernacular names include mamekhor or mamekh (Punjabi), ood-e-saleeb (Urdu) meaning "with-a-cross", ood salap (Hindi), mid (in Kashmir) and 多花芍药 (duo hua shao yao) meaning "multi-flower peony" (in Chinese). In English it is sometimes called Himalayan peony. It is among the tallest of the herbaceous peony species, and, while cold-hardy, it grows better in warm, temperate climates. It is a parent of the popular hybrid 'White Innocence', which reaches 1+1⁄2 m.
U.S. chemistry professor and peony breeder Arthur Percy Saunders made a cross between P. emodi and P. lactiflora that is now known as "White Innocence" (1947), an extremely tall (up to 1.5 m), richly flowering and well-known cultivar.
This peony naturally occurs from Afghanistan and southern Tibet (Gyirong County), to western Nepal and grows at an altitude of 1800–2500 m in thickets. P. emodi is found in deciduous forests of several oak species and Quercus floribunda, most often on south facing slopes. In Uttarakhand, it occurs together with Impatiens thomsonii, I. sulcata, Erigeron multiradiatus, Viola canescens, Trifolium pratense, Pennisetum flaccidum, Murdannia divergens, Euphorbia peplus and Hemiphragma heterophyllum.
Paeonia emodi is used in traditional medicine in its home range to treat amongst others diarrhoea, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, palpitation, asthma and arteriosclerosis. The parts of this plant contain chemical compounds such as triterpenes, monoterpene glucosides and phenols. Extract of the root stabilises heart beat rates, relaxes the airways and reduces blood clotting. Paeoninol and paeonin C from the fruit inhibit lipoxygenase, an enzyme that produces substances associated with asthma, inflammation, and the growth of bloodvessels in tumors. Paeoninol and paeonin C are active as antioxidant. Research illustrated that an ethanol extract of P. emodi suppressed the growth of common duckweed (50% at 50 μg/ml), and was moderately effective in killing some insects (red flour beetle). No inhibition of the growth of bacteria and fungi could be demonstrated, and no general toxicity was observed in brine shrimps, suggesting it may be safe to use.
Anomalous Peony · California peony · Paeonia cambessedesii · Paeonia corsica · Paeonia daurica subsp. mlokosewitschii · Tree Peony · Dian mu dan · Chinese peony · Paeonia ludlowii · Peony · Chinese Peony · Common peony
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Paeonia emodi by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
