Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Netherlands

Common name: Pioen, Pioenroos, Peony

Family: Paeoniaceae (Peony)

Comments: P. anomala has a large range, from the Ural Mountains in western Russia to the Kola Peninsula in the north, the Tian Shan Mountains in Kazakhstan and the western Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Its habitats are very diverse, such as thickets on rocky slopes, dry steppes and coniferous forests. It can be up to 50 cm. tall. The flowers of wild plants are usually magenta red, those of cultivars vary from bright red to crimson pink. The plant flowers from late spring to early summer. In autumn its leaves turn an attractive orange brown colour. This species is hardy up to -25ºC.