Sign up for free

Newsletters

Once a month
get new photos
and expert tips.

Environment
Environment Main Global Warming Natural Disasters Habitats FRESHWATER

Tree Peony

Tree Peony

The "queen of flowers," or moutan, is a national treasure in China. It has large pearly petals in shades of red, pink, and purple. The luminous, double-rose flowers have a sublime fragrance. Popular as a backyard plant around the world, the tree peony grows slowly over the first three years and then suddenly flourishes. It can live more than a hundred years. (Paeonia suffruticosa)

Photograph by Anne Keiser