California peony
Paeonia californica Nutt.
Paeonia californica is a perennial herb native to southwestern California and northern Baja California. It reaches 35–70 cm in height and features lobed leaves and dark maroon, elliptic flowers with yellow anthers. It blooms from January to March and produces two to five fruits per flower. The plant retreats underground during summer and reemerges with winter rains. It is commonly known as California peony and is found in coastal sage scrub and chaparral habitats.
Description
Paeonia californica is a member of the Paeoniaceae family and is endemic to the coastal regions of Southern and Central California and northern Baja California. It grows as an understory plant on dry hillsides in coastal sage scrub and chaparral communities. The plant has cup-shaped, drooping flowers with dark maroon petals and is adapted to seasonal rainfall patterns, disappearing underground during the dry summer months. It is not considered rare in its native range and is sometimes called wild peony.
Other common names
California peony
Synonyms
Paeonia brownii subsp. californicaPaeonia brownii var. californicaPaeonia brownii subsp. californica