Paeonia delavayi is a low woody shrub belonging to the peony family, and is endemic to China.

The light green, delicate looking deciduous leaves consist of many segments, and are alternately arranged on new growth.

One to five bracts defined as those immediately below the calyx, have various shapes, ranging from incised and leaf-like to entire and sepal-like.

They have a much broader base and a smaller, narrower, rounded or suddenly pointed (or mucronate) dark green tip.

The ovary is mostly green, but sometimes purple, is topped by a yellow-green, yellow, red, or purple-red stigma, and contains seven to seventeen ovules in each carpel.

These develop into fruits (so-called follicles) which are long ovoid in shape, 2-3.5 × 1-1.5 cm, which are brown when ripe in August, and contain between one and six brown-black seeds each.

It can be distinguished easily because it reproduces mainly by stolons, has fused roots, stems emerge from the ground individually, is only up to 1.75 m high, has segmented leaves with narrow and acute segments, variously colored petals, stamens, disk, and stigmas, has two to eight carpels, which develop in small follicles (2-3.5 × 1-1.5 cm) and rarely produce seeds.

P. ludlowii on the other hand can only reproduce by seed and lacks creeping underground stems, has slender, regular roots, while the stems form a clump, grows to 2-3.5 m high, has leaves with short and suddenly pointed lobes, petals, stamens, disk and stigmas are always yellow, only one or very rarely two carpels develop but this grows into a much larger follicle (4.75-7 × 2-3.3 cm) which always develops seeds.

Paeonia delavayi with maroon-red and P. lutea with yellow flowers, both from Northwest Yunnan were described respectively by Adrien René Franchet and Delavay, on the same page of the same scientific article in 1886.

Komarov described P. potaninii from West Sichuan in 1921, with smaller, deep maroon-red flowers and narrower leaf segments.

In 1931 Stern adds P. trollioides from Northwest Yunnan with yellow flowers shaped like those of Trollius, growing more erect and having larger fruits, which he reduces to P. potaninii var.

[6] Paeonia delavayi is endemic to southwestern China, where it is limited to Sichuan, Yunnan and the extreme South-East of Tibet.

In combination with its thick roots this makes this species well adapted to colonize open habitat, that may be prone to drying out quickly.

[2] Paeonia delavayi has been listed as endangered by the China Plant Red Data Book, and may be under threat if digging out roots for medicine on a large scale is not adequately controlled.

However, because it easily reproduces vegetatively and is relatively widely distributed, it may not go extinct shortly if overexploitation of the root for medicine will be adequately controlled.

It is said to be grown with ease, preferring a neutral or limy, deep rich soil in sun or partial shade.

Planting tree peonies in a sheltered position may help to prevent strong winds from breaking branches, particularly during flowering.