[2] Its common name in Chinese is 白花芍药 (bai hua shao yao), which means "white peony".

[3] Paeonia sterniana is a hairless perennial herbaceous plant of up to 90 cm high, with leaves alternately set along the stems, which flowers in it home range in May, while the seeds are ripe as off September.

There is very short yellow disk which encloses the base of two to four green and hairless carpels, which are topped by white styles capped by red to purple stigmas.

[5] Paeonia emodi is much alike P. sterniana, having white flowers with entirely yellow stamens, and segmented leaflets.

In 1997 Joseph Halda thought this taxon not worthy of full species status and reduced it to P. emodi subsp.

[6] The species was named in honor of Frederick Claude Stern, who supported plant hunting in China and wrote a comprehensive book on peonies.

[9] Paeonia sterniana grows among shrubs on stony slopes, and in oak forest, between 2800–3500 m altitude, in southeastern Tibet (Tsangpo Valley), particularly in Kongbo, Tamnyen, and Gyala.