Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Netherlands

Common name: Boompioen, Tree peony, Tibetan tree peony

Family: Paeoniaceae (Peony)

Synonym: Paeonia lutea var. ludlowii

Distribution: Tibet tot China en Siberië

Hardiness: Zone 06

Life form: Shrub

Comments: This plant was discovered by the famous plant hunters Ludlow and Sheriff during an expedition in Southeast-Tibet in 1936. In the wild, they grow in large groups in holly and oak forests at an altitude of 3,000 to 3,400 m. It can become a wide shrub of 2.5 m. tall and 4 m. wide. The flowers can reach a diameter of 13 cm. Ripe fruits are cylindrical and, at 7.5 cm., very long.