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Attractions of Luoyang

The Longmen Grottoes

City Flower of Luoyang: Peony

Peony, common name for any of a family of plants having large showy flowers composed of five leafy sepals, five to ten petals, numerous stamens, and two to five carpels, each with numerous round, black, shiny seeds. The leaves are compound, the leaflets variously and irregularly divided. The fibers of the root are often thickened and tuberous. Peony species are large herbaceous perennials or, rarely, half-shrubby plants, native to Europe, Asia, and the northwestern United States. Because of the beauty of their flowers, some species are cultivated, particularly the common peony, a native of the mountain woods of southern Europe. This species has carmine or blood-red flowers. A variety with double flowers is common. The white peony is another favorite garden species. The mountain peony in favorable circumstances may attain large size and a height of about 4 m (about 12 ft). It is propagated by cuttings and also by grafting.

Scientific classification: Peonies make up the family Paeoniaceae. The common peony is classified as Paeonia officinalis, the white peony as Paeonia lactiflora, and the mountain peony as Paeonia moutan.