''Paeonia ostii'' is a hardy shrub in the peony family,

Paeoniaceae The peony or paeony is a flowering plant in the genus ''Paeonia'' , the only genus in the family Paeoniaceae . Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished, ...

. It can be found in the Gansu,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

and

Henan province Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

s of China. It can reach heights of 1.5 m with grey-brown bark and lance shaped leaflets. Flowers are produced in mid-spring, up to 15 cm across, and pure white without basal blotches. The flowers can sometimes be faintly tinged with pink. This species is the parent of two medicinal varieties of tree peonies. 'Feng Dan Bai' (Phoenix White) and 'Feng Dan Fen' (Phoenix Pink) are grown for the bark of their roots which is used as an

antispasmodic An antispasmodic (synonym: spasmolytic) is a pharmaceutical drug or other agent that suppresses muscle spasms. Smooth muscle spasm One type of antispasmodics is used for smooth muscle relaxation, especially in tubular organs of the gastrointest ...

throughout Asia.Peonies: The Imperial Flower by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall

References

ostii Flora of China Plants described in 1992 {{Saxifragales-stub