The first species to be described in the early 1800s, arriving in Europe thanks to Sir Banks in London in 1787, it was long considered the only tree species. It would seem to be the species from which most varieties derive. Recent reviews carried out by botanists have identified two subspecies, including the one cultivated with double or bomb flowers. The wild species, with single white or pink flowers, grows in the woodlands of Henan and of Anhui.
The paeonia suffruticosa group is very large, including over 200 varieties of hybrids and cultivars deriving from crossbreeding different species of the Vaginatae subsection.
