Difference between Peony and Chinese Peony Comparison Chart

Difference between Peony and牡丹

The editor answers your questions about the introduction of plant knowledge about peonies, the difference between peonies and牡丹, which will definitely help you. Let's learn together!

Peonies and牡丹 are often mentioned together, but many flower enthusiasts have not seen both flowers at the same time, so they want to understand the difference between peonies and牡丹. Visually, it is actually easy to distinguish them because their leaves are different, and one is a herbaceous plant, while the other is a woody plant.

牡丹

牡丹 flowers are perennial deciduous shrubs, which means that the leaves fall in winter, but the plant remains. The leaves are light green with a slight yellowish tint, and they somewhat resemble chicken claws.

Look closely at the color and shape of the leaves

Peony

Peony flowers are perennial herbaceous plants. The above-ground parts will wither in winter, and they will sprout again when the weather warms up in the following spring. Peony leaves are dark green, similar to the color when there is plenty of nitrogen fertilizer. It is easy to see the difference compared to牡丹.

Compare the leaves with the first牡丹 picture. Are the colors much darker, and do the individual leaves not have large teeth?

This is what peonies look like when they sprout in spring

In summary, the simplest method to distinguish between peonies and牡丹 is to look at the leaves and the plant. Leaves that look like chicken claws and have teeth belong to牡丹 flowers. If the leaf color is darker, the individual leaves are smoother in shape without teeth, and the plant is herbaceous, then it is a peony. Some flower enthusiasts have also summarized distinguishing by the flowers. If it is single-petaled:牡丹 has 5 pistils, and the flower receptacle completely encloses the pistils, looking very much like a steamed bun. Peonies have 3 pistils, and the flower receptacle only encloses the base of the pistils, not at all like a steamed bun. The editor thinks that with the variety of horticultural varieties now, simply looking at the flowers might complicate a simple problem.

This article shares all the content about the differences between peonies and牡丹. Have green plant enthusiasts understood?