''Paeonia rockii'', or Rock's peony, is a woody

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

tree peony Tree peony is the vernacular name for the section ''Moutan'' of the plant genus '' Paeonia'', or one of the species or cultivars belonging to this section. It consists of shrubs that have perennial aerial woody stems. Other peonies do not have ...

that was named after Joseph Rock. It is one of several species given the

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

name tree peony, and is native to the mountains of

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

and adjoining provinces in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, it is known as ().

Uses

''Paeonia rockii'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in Asia and the west. Like ''

Paeonia lactiflora ''Paeonia lactiflora'' (Chinese peony, Chinese herbaceous peony, or common garden peony) is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Paeoniaceae, native to central and eastern Asia from eastern Tibet across northern Chi ...

'', another Chinese peony species, it is used as an herbal remedy in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...

Features

''Paeonia rockii'' is known for the obvious black, purple, and brown-red spots at the base of petals. Its main features are: * Tall plant, can reach high, crown width . * Big and bright flower, the diameter can reach . * Strong fragrance; the smell of one open flower can dominate that of ten other open flowers from another peony. * Resistance to drought and frost; tolerance of salt and base. Can bear temperatures as low as ; can still grow normally at pH above 7.

Rockii hybrids

Tree peony hybrids with ''Paeonia rockii'' as one parent are called Rockii hybrids. In China there are several cultivar groups of these hybrids, called Gansu Mudan and Zhongyuan Mudan, or North-West Chinese cultivar group. The European-grown Suffruticosa Group ( ''Paeonia'' × ''suffruticosa'') also belongs here. File:Paeonia rockii bud 2015 G1.jpg, Bud File:Paeonia rockii 2013 G1.jpg, Fruit

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2671785 rockii Garden plants Medicinal plants Endemic flora of China