Where is the origin of peony flower?

Peony is an inherent specialty flower of China, with thousands of years of natural growth and more than 2,000 years of artificial cultivation history. Its flowers are big, beautiful, colorful and fragrant, which have been praised by people throughout the ages, and it has high ornamental and medicinal value. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, when it was listed in the Divine Husbandman's Classic of the Materia Medica as a medicinal plant, there has been no lack of articles in all kinds of ancient books throughout the ages. It is a part of Chinese national culture and folklore, a cell of the complete organism of Chinese national culture. Through it, one can have an insight into the general characteristics of Chinese national culture, which is the "cultural holography" phenomenon. This is the phenomenon of "cultural holography".

The peony grows slowly, the plant is small, and the height of the plant is mostly between 0.5 and 2 meters; the root is fleshy, thick and long, with the center lignified, and the length is generally between 0.5 and 0.8 meters, and the length of a very few roots is up to 2 meters; the color of the root skin and the root flesh varies according to the varieties; the branches and the trunks are upright and brittle, rounded, and are clustered with a number of branches and become shrubby from the rootstock, and the branches of the current year are smooth, herbaceous, and yellowish-brown, and are often cracked and flaked off; Leaves alternate, the leaf blade is usually three times three out of compound leaves, the upper part of the branch is often a single leaf, leaflets have lance, ovoid, elliptic and other shapes, the terminal leaflets are often 2 ~ 3-lobed, the leaf above dark green or yellow-green, under the gray-green, smooth or hairy; the total petiole length of 8-20 cm, the surface of the grooves; the flowers are solitary in the current year at the top of the branch, hermaphroditic, the flowers are large and colorful, the shape of the beauty of the multi-purpose, the diameter of the flower is 10-30 cm; the color of flowers are white, Yellow, pink, red, purple red, purple, ink purple (black), snow blue (powder blue), green, compound color ten big colors; androgynophore often have petalization phenomenon, the natural increase of petals and the degree of male, pistil petalization and varieties, cultivation of environmental conditions, the growth of years and so on; normal flowers of the majority of the stamens, strong seed-bearing force, seed maturity is also high, the pistil petalization of serious flowers, seed less and not real or no seed, complete flowers androgynophore free, the carpel Generally 5, rarely 8, each with a vase-shaped ovary, marginal placentation, most ovules, the fruit is pentagonal, each fruit corner bears 7 to 13 seeds, the seeds are rounded, **** yellow at maturity, and become black-brown when old, the diameter of the mature seeds is 0.6-0.9 cm, and the weight of a thousand grains is about 400 g. The seed is also very strong, and it is very strong, and it is very strong.

After peony has been changed from wild to domestic species, due to the change of environmental conditions and the continuous breeding and cultivation by man, in addition to the variations in flower color, flower type, and early and late flowering, there are also variations in the form of plants, the length and thickness of roots, and the color and shape of leaves, etc. The peony is also known as the "peony of the world", which is a species of the "peony".

Peony, also known as deer leek, rat's nest, white benzene, hundred two gold, in botany is a small deciduous shrub of the genus Paeonia in the family of buttercup. Its flower and leaf forms are very similar to those of peony, so peony was also called water peony in ancient times.

The peony is generally 1.5 to 2 meters high, and the cultivated ones in the south can be up to 3 meters high. The leaves are irregularly bipinnate, occasionally tripinnate, green on the surface, gray-green on the back, with white powder, reddish when young. Flowers are large, single-flowered terminal, with numerous stamens. Sepals 5, green. Petals originally 5 to 6, through cultivation, part of the stamens evolved into petals, it became heavy flowers. Fewer petals, anciently known as multi-leaf; many petals, the ancient pair known as a thousand leaves. Flowers in yellow, white, red, purple and other colors, flower diameter 12-25 cm. The flowers are followed by follicles, densely covered with short hairs, which open at maturity and contain several large seeds, irregularly rounded and black. The flowering period is in April to May.

Peony is native to the northwest of China, and now it is still seen in the wild in the mountains of Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Henan. As Ouyang Xiu's "Record of Peonies in Luoyang" (1031) said, "There are more peonies in the west of Danyan and in the Baoshi Road, which are no different from thorns and thistles, and the natives take them for fuel."

The peony has been used as an ornamental plant since the period of North and South Dynasties, and there are many records in the literature. Liu Saike's "Jia Records" said, "Yang Zihua of Northern Qi painted peonies," and since peonies were already in paintings, there was no doubt that they were used as ornamental objects. Xie Kangle even pointed out the planting of peonies: "There are many peonies among the bamboos between the waters of Yongjia." (Taiping Yuban). (Taiping Yuban) Darwin, a pioneer of modern biology, wrote in the 1870s in his book "The Variation of Animals and Plants in Domesticated Situations" that peonies had been cultivated in China for 1,400 years, "Pushing back from the 1870s to 1,400 years ago, that is the fifth century, the beginning of the North and South Dynasties, and the history of the cultivation of peonies in China roughly coincides with that of the Chinese peony.

Sui Dynasty, when Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty (605-618 AD) "set up a land of two hundred miles for the West Garden ......, and showed all the birds, animals, grasses and trees in the territory of the world to the capital (now Luoyang, Henan Province) ...... Yizhou (now Yixian, Hebei Province) into twenty boxes of peonies". ) into twenty boxes of peonies". In Sui Zhi Suwen Zhuan, it was said, "Peonies are gorgeous at the fifth hour of the Qingming Festival." This is enough to show that peony was used as an ornamental plant on a larger scale.

Peony cultivation began to flourish in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It flourished in Chang'an in the middle of Kaiyuan. Legend has it that at that time, there was a man named Song Shanfu in Luoyang who was good at planting flowers, and at the call of Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, he went to Mount Li and planted more than 10,000 peonies in different colors (Longcheng Records). Li Bai said, "The clouds want to be clothed and the flowers want to look beautiful; the spring breeze brushes the threshold and the dew is thick. If I hadn't seen it at the top of the Jade Mountain, I would have met it under the moon at Yao Tai." The three songs of "Qingping Tune" are about peonies of different colors. "The peony in front of the garden has no style, while the hibiscus on the pond is quiet. Only the peony is a true national color, and it moves the capital when in bloom." (Liu Yuxi: "Peony Appreciation") "Spring is approaching the end of the imperial city, and there is a clamor of carriages and horses; when **** say peonies are in bloom, they go with each other to buy flowers. The price of peonies is not the same as the price of peonies, but the value of the reward depends on the number of flowers: a hundred of them are red, and over a hundred of them are vegetarian. ...... Every family is accustomed to the vulgar, and everyone is not enlightened. ......" (Bai Juyi: "Buying Flowers") From the above poems, it can be seen that the peony cultivation in Chang'an, the imperial capital, was in full swing at that time. At that time, peonies not only had more color varieties, but also appeared some novelty variations and the phenomenon of heavy petals. "There was a peony tree in Xingtang Temple, and 1200 peonies were in bloom in Yuanhe, whose colors were positively haloed, invertedly haloed, light red, light purple, purple-white, white sandalwood, and so on, but there was no deep red, and there were also those who did not have the heart of the flower and leaf, and those who had heavy platforms, whose flower faces were seven or eight inches." (Youyang Miscellaneous Chopsticks) "Emperor Mu Zong planted a thousand-leaf peony in front of his palace, and the flower began to bloom with an overwhelming fragrance, a thousand leaves, large and red." (Du Yang Miscellaneous Chopsticks). This also shows that there were already heavy peonies in China as early as the ninth century AD.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), the center of peony cultivation in China shifted from Chang'an in Tang Dynasty to Luoyang, where there were more varieties of peonies, and the cultivation techniques were more systematic and perfect. There were more varieties of peonies and the cultivation techniques were more systematic and perfect. A number of theoretical monographs appeared and the research on peonies was greatly improved. In this period, there were Ouyang Xiu's Luoyang Peony Records, Zhou Shi Hou's Yinjiang Zhou's Luoyang Peony Records, Luoyang Flower and Tree Records, and Zhang Ruizhi's Luoyang Flower Records, etc. These works described the cultivation of peonies. They described the cultivation and management of peony and summarized a complete set of mature experience. Ouyang Xiu said, "By and large, people in Luoyang have flowers in their homes, but there are few big trees, and the cover is not good if it is not connected.

The end of the Northern Song Dynasty was characterized by wars and turmoils, and Luoyang peony began to decline, and Chenzhou peony took its place. Zhang Bangji wrote Chenzhou Peony Records, which said, "The products of Luoyang peony are found in the flower spectrum, but it is not as abundant as the peony of Chenzhou, which is also abundant. Round household flowers are like planting millet and corn, and the movement is counted by hectares."

During the Southern Song Dynasty, the center of peony cultivation moved southward from Luoyang in the north to Tianpeng (present-day Pengzhou City, Sichuan Province), Chengdu, Hangzhou and other places in the south. The peony cultivated in Tianpeng was the first one in Sichuan and was called "Little Xijing". The poet Lu You, who was an official in Sichuan, traveled there to enjoy the peonies and compiled a book entitled "The Record of Peonies in Tianpeng" (1178). After the southward transition of the Song Dynasty, the flower affairs in Luoyang declined, but Hangzhou was developed, and some novelty varieties appeared, such as 'Chongtai Jiuxin Light Purple Peony' and 'White-flowered Green Edge Peony'.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the development of Chinese peony was at a low ebb, and there were only a few good varieties in Chang'an and Luoyang. The varieties were degraded, and it was rare to see heavy petal varieties, so there was a sigh of "It is difficult to meet a thousand leaves alone, and it is as if a thousand people are English and a million people are Jie, and the century is not constant" (Yao Suu, "Preface to Peonies")!

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the center of peony cultivation shifted to Bozhou, Anhui Province. Xia Zhichen's "Review of Bozhou Peony" said, "My Bozhou peony has been flourishing for many years, and its delicate appearance has changed three times, especially in the period between the seasons and the Meng Dynasty. On the other hand, there are Tianxiang Yipin, Pomegranate Red, Shengjiaorong, Gonghonggao, LiuLi Guanzhu, and various kinds of new reds, with mixed reds coming out at the end, which are rare varieties. There is also a rhubarb, light and lovely, not less than three changes. Buddha's top green for the first white. Roughly red flowers to flower red, silver red, peach red for the top." Another cloud: "CaoTang several wu of step, kind of dill is partial, the rate of two colors and make a clump, red and white shaped, intricate, and to flat head purple, QingTianXiang, the first spring red three colors inserted into its flower clusters, the set of the article, he bloomed brilliant as a brocade". At this time the first Chinese flower arrangement technology.

During the Ming Dynasty, although Bozhou peony was famous, peony cultivation in Caozhou (now Heze in Shandong Province) and Beijing, the capital of China, gradually flourished. Around Taihu Lake in Jiangnan, Lanzhou and Linxia in Northwest China also developed.

Both Caozhou and Bozhou introduced peony during the Jiajing (1522-1567) period of the Ming Dynasty, and reached prosperity during the Wanli (1573-1620) period. The two places exchanged varieties with each other, and "Caozhou flowers were mostly transferred from Bo" (Qing Dynasty). Yu Pengnian's "Caozhou Peony Genealogy"); Bozhou also introduced many famous products of Caozhou, for example, the "History of Bozhou Peony" recorded a variety of "Jinyu Jiaohui", which was said to be "the first one produced in Caozhou". There are also two kinds of peonies, "Nin Ji Red" and "Ping Shi Red", which are also produced in Cao Zhou. The Cao Nan Peony Genealogy also said, "By the Ming Dynasty, Cao Nan peonies were the best in the world." In the family of a scholar in Caozhou, there were peonies planted in forty acres of land, ...... as many as 1,000 or 2,000 plants, and as few as a few hundred." (The Five Miscellaneous Chambers). (The Five Miscellaneous Chopsticks). From this, we can see that Heze, the main origin of present-day peony, began to flourish in the Ming Dynasty.

Beijing has been the capital of Liao and Jin, and the cultivation of peony has become more and more prosperous. It is recorded in the Beijing Examination of the Ming Dynasty that Emperor Shengzong of Liao (982-1031 A.D.) went to Changchun Palace in March of the 12th year of the reign of Emperor Tuanhe (995 A.D.) to admire peonies. During the Ming Dynasty, the cultivation of peonies was so prosperous that "peonies were planted both inside and outside the Golden Palace". Outside the city, there are also three famous gardens, Liang Jia Yuan, Qing Hua Yuan and Hui An Yuan.

In the south of the Yangtze River, peonies flourished in Jiangyin during the Ming Dynasty. In addition, many peonies were planted in Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. According to the Ming Dynasty's "General Records of Guangxi", in Guangxi, "peonies come out of Lingchuan and Guanyang, and there are peonies in Guanyang with a height of one zhang, and the name of the place is Xiaoluoyang."

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), the cultivation of peony in Caozhou became even more prevalent, replacing it with Bozhou. The Cao County Records said, "Peony was not a native product, but it was first developed in Luo Xia (present-day Luo Nan County, Shaanxi Province), and then in Bozhou, where there were already six or seven hundred kinds of peonies arranged in five different colors, and now, Bozhou has only a few peonies, and all the events are returned to Caozhou." "The gardeners in Caozhou planted flowers as if they were growing millet and corn, and their activities were counted in hectares, covering the borders of the fields and the transformers." (The Peony Genealogy of Caozhou). Pu Songling, in his book "Liaozhai Zhiyi", also wrote that "Caozhou peonies are the best in Qilu". At that time, the cultivation of peonies in the villages in the northeast of Caozhou city was already very common. There were many people who raised flowers as a business, and many of them had established gardens and beds, among which Wang Lizhuang, Hongmiao, Maozhuang, and Zhao Lou villages were the top ones. During the Daoguang period, Zhao Yutian built a garden in the north of the village, specializing in raising peonies and peonies, which was a great success of the village, and the trees around the garden were fenced with mulberry, so it was called "Mulberry Ledge Garden". He wrote "Mulberry Hedge Garden Peony Spectrum", in which 151 kinds of peonies were recorded, and it was said, "There are ten counties and two states in Shanzuo, but Caozhou is the only one that talks about peonies. Caozhou has ten counties and one state, but Heze is the only one that speaks of peony." "I don't know how many counties and miles there are in Heze, but the only place where peonies come out is a corner north of the city, in the sun of Lu Mountain, outside the Fan Causeway, which is not ten miles away from the extension of the commendation." Later, there was the "Peony Spectrum of Cherry Garden", in which the names of the peonies were checked and there were one hundred and forty of them. And it said, "When I went to see it after the rain, I saw beautiful purples and brilliant reds, all of which were released with stamens, interlaced like brocade, eye-catching like haze, burning like the competition of group of jades, and brilliant as if five colors were proclaimed to each other." At that time, the cultivation area has reached more than 500 acres, the annual output of more than 100,000 plants, shipped to Guangzhou |, Tianjin, Beijing, Hankou, Xi'an, Jinan and other places for sale. Among them, those shipped to Guangzhou is the most, the income is also large. There is a folk saying among local farmers: "Growing fruit trees is nothing like papaya and persimmon, and raising flowers and trees is still peony and peony." Coupled with the social hobby, the fact that Heze people are good at planting flowers, as well as the fact that peony root bark can be used for medicinal purposes, the Heze peony, therefore, develops on a regular basis and lasts for a long time.

In the Qing Dynasty, peony was also cultivated in most parts of Gansu. Lanzhou, Linxia and Lintao were the center of cultivation. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the compilation of Gansu New Tongzhi recorded that peonies were cultivated in Gansu "in all the state capitals, but Lanzhou was more prevalent, with five colors". Yan'an Ten Thousand Flowers Mountain is located opposite to Huayuantou Village in Dufu River, where peonies are abundantly produced. The peonies are abundant here. Jiajing's "Yan'an Prefecture Records" recorded that "Huayuantou produces a lot of peonies, and woodcutters use them as fuel." It has been a custom of the nearby people to enjoy the flowers here on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar for more than a thousand years.

There are Ningguo Peony and Tongling Peony in Jiangnan. According to Ningguo County Record compiled in 1936, "Ningguo and Panglong produce peonies, and white and yellow peonies are the most expensive ones." About Tongling peony, according to Tongling County Records, "In the stone sinus of Changshan Mountain, there is a white peony plant, which is very colorful and beautiful. It is rumored to have been planted by Ge Hong." Ge Hong was a Jin Dynasty person, according to this legend, to have a history of 1600 years.

After the founding of New China, Chinese peony has been restored and developed. At present, the cultivation area of Heze peony has reached more than 50,000 mu with more than 600 varieties, and it has become the center of Chinese peony cultivation, ornamental and scientific research with the largest area and the largest number of varieties in the world, which is the largest in the world.

The history of peony cultivation in China has formed a pattern with the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River as the main cultivation centers and other areas as the sub-cultivation centers or important cultivation places. With the change of dynasties, the peony cultivation centers changed, but the main cultivation centers were always located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The transfer process was as follows: Luoyang (Sui) - Chang'an (Tang) - Luoyang (Five Dynasties, Song) - Bozhou, Caozhou (Ming) - Caozhou (Qing). This is the main line of formation and development of Chinese peony variety groups. Besides, there are several centers of development: firstly, the Yangtze River Delta, around Taihu Lake and southeast Anhui; secondly, Chengdu and Pengzhou in the northwest corner of the Sichuan Basin; thirdly, Lanzhou and Linxia in Gansu; and fourthly, Guanyang in Guangxi.

Chinese peony has been introduced from the wild to ornamental cultivation for about 1650 years. Cultivated varieties have gradually evolved from single-petal flowers to double-petal, heavy-petal and even Taikaku-type. The main driving force for the evolution of peony varieties to heavy petals is good cultivation conditions. It is known to fix the excellent character of varieties and branching changes through grafting, from which new varieties emerge in large numbers.

From the above facts, it can be shown that China's peony varieties are extremely rich in resources, i.e., there are wild species, semi-wild species, and a large number of cultivated varieties. Their flowers are fruitful, rich, graceful and generous, and not only have excellent appearance, but also have excellent color and rhyme.

There are many kinds of peonies, about 30 kinds of peony plants all over the world, and there are more than 800 varieties of peonies in China. Peonies are classified in many ways based on the following aspects: plant shape, branching, habit, leaf shape, flower color, flowering period, flower type, etc. According to the different wild original species, they can be divided into peony series, purple-spotted peony series, yellow peony series and purple peony series; according to the basic structure of the flower part, they can be divided into the monocotyledonous class and the pavilion class; according to the evolution of the flower part, they can be divided into the monocotyledonous class and the pavilion class. According to the basic structure of the flower part, it is divided into the single coat group and the pavilion group; according to the different ways and order of flower part evolution, it is divided into the thousand-layer group and the straddle group, and so on.

Cultivation Techniques

Propagation: seeding, dividing, grafting and pressing can be used.

(1)Sowing: The seeds are ripening one after another from the first half of September, and should be sown as soon as possible after picking the seeds so as to sprout and grow the embryonic root before winter. The epigerminal axis of peony seeds needs to go through a long period of dormancy in order to sprout, while the embryonic root doesn't need to be dormant, so it only takes root in the year of sowing in autumn without sprouting, and then it sprouts in the spring of the next year, and then it is divided into seedlings in fall and transplanted, and the solid seedling can only blossom after 5 years, which is slow and easy to change. The seeding method is used only for hybridization because the plants are slow and prone to mutation.

(2) Splitting: Peony splitting can be carried out in Qingming, and it can be delayed in warm areas. When dividing plants, attention should be paid to splitting them at the place where they can be separated easily, and more roots should be taken care of in the newly divided part.

(3) Grafting: Usually, peony root or peony root is used for root grafting, and peony root is thin and hard, so peony root is often used for grafting. Generally in late September, the specific operation of the peony before the fleshy roots of the whole dun dug out, and then cut them open root by root, placed indoors in the shade to dry for two days, so that the root of the water to reduce and soft, and then cut the peony's current year's roots for the scion, each branch must have a full of full of the top buds, the use of splitting method indoors one by one in the peony's root root root anvil, generally do not need to tie up, and only use and a good mastic will be the interface sealing, catching a good after Immediately get the leveled nursery ground for planting, when planting, the interface needs to be planted in the soil, and 8-10 cm deep into the soil surface, and then according to the rows of ridges, the top bud of the scion is sealed all the scion, the fall of that year in the paeoniae anvil can be grown on the new roots, but the peony scion's top buds are not sprouting. In the following year, the soil ridge will be opened before Qingming, so that peony can sprout and grow, and can grow its own root system and dig it out after fall, and at the same time, the root root anvil of peony can be cut off and planted again, otherwise, the root system of peony will grow peony clumps with peony, which will affect the growth of peony.

Management: Peony cultivation should pay attention to the following points: firstly, watering, in spring, sufficient water should be supplied to promote its growth and meet the needs of flowering; in summer, attention should be paid to the drainage after the rain, so as not to accumulate waterlogging; in fall, water should be controlled appropriately, so as to avoid growing in futility and being easily frozen. The second is fertilization. Peonies should be fertilized three times a year, the first time when the new shoots are drawn out rapidly and the leaves and flowers are stretching out, at this time, the fertilization has a good effect on the enlargement of flowers, and the late-effect fertilizer is the main one. The second time in the flower after the shedding of flowers, later growth and buds have a great impact on the increase, also to fast-acting fertilizer. The third time in the fall and winter, to enhance the growth of spring has an important role, to late-effective fertilizer. In addition, attention should be paid to plowing and weeding, shaping and pruning and bud removal work, for ornamental plants can be less, to do to remove the base of the sprouting branches in order to form a short period of time beautiful plant shape. Flower bud differentiation starts in late July, and pruning should be carried out before then. Although peony likes light, but under the exposure of hot sun in summer, the leaves often lose color and even wither and stop growing, so it should be shaded appropriately in cultivation.

The common diseases of peony are brown spot disease, anthracnose disease and purple feather disease, and the control method should adopt the comprehensive control method, and the common fungicidal agents should be used to prevent and control them during the period of onset.

Pests include root nematodes, aspergillus and mesquite.

Use

Peony flowers are large and beautiful, colorful and fragrant, with high ornamental value, widely cultivated in traditional classical gardens in China, and also widely used as potted plants for ornamental purposes.

The skin of peony root is called "danpi", which contains danpi glucoside, paeoniflorin, danpi acid and other ingredients, and it has the functions of clearing heat and cooling blood, activating blood circulation, regulating menstruation, and promoting blood stasis, etc. Taken for a long time, it can lighten body and benefit life. Long service can lighten the body and benefit the life, can cure hypertension, blood stasis and other diseases, the whole flower can regulate menstruation and blood circulation, the main treatment for women's menstrual disorders and menstrual pain. Petals and pollen contain a variety of amino acids, vitamins, sugars, enzymes, trace elements. It can be used as health food and beverage, cosmetics and so on.