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The tree peony, also called Mudan, is a very beautiful origination in China.

This book is an introduction to Mudan of China and presents botanical, historical and current information on every aspect of Mudan in China. This book is mainly in two parts: General statements and Cultivar statements, it gives a detailed and valuable introductions to more than four hundred cultivars of Central plains Group of China with photographs and descriptions mainly the history, taxonomy, ecological biology characteristics, reproduction and cultivation of Mudan in China

Mudan is amongst the earliest plants in the world to have been used in horticulture. In China, specialised books and records of Mudan feature among the earliest plant books. In the 800 years from 986AD, when Zhong Shu wrote the first florilegium of tree peonies in the world, to 1809, when Ji Nan finished his, about fourteen Mudan books and florilegia were published, outnumbering those on other well-known Chinese plants, in addition to general books containing sections on Mudan. After the establishment of the people’s Republic of China, especially during the 1980s, local books and florilegia on Mudan were produced in Heze, Luoyang, Linxia, Tongling and other cities where peony research and production have prospered. Although some of these publications describe peony work in general, or make an indepth study of some aspect of peonies, not one of them covers both Chinese peony history, resources, production and research, and also the scientific classification, sorting, registration and description. We, as a group of Chinese researchers, have therefore written this book to present Chinese tree peonies as a significant flower and plant as we move into the 21st century, and to commemorate the hard work and research carried out for many generations by our forefathers.
This book gives a systematic description of both wild ancestral species and many horticultural cultivars of Chinese Mudan, with their resources, distribution, classification, ecological and biological characteristics, reproduction and cultivation, and application. In this volume, 400 typical
cultivars of the Central Plains Group are recorded according to recognized principles and methods, with concise accurate descriptions and photographs.

Preface
Introduction
General statements
1. Wild Species and Their Distribution and Ecological Environment
2. The Cultivar Groups and Their Distribution
3. A Brief History of Peony Cultivation
4. Varietal Classification System
5. Ecological Habitats and Biological
6. Propagation and Cultivation
7. Peonies and Their Uses
8. Famous Peony Gardens
9. The Criteria for Recording Morphology of Cultivars
10. Introduction and Development of Chinese Peonies in Other Countries

Cultivar Statements
11. Single Form
12. Lotus Form
13. Chrysanthermum Form
14. Rose Form
15. Hundred Proliferate-Flower Form
16. Anemone Form
17. Golden-Circle Form
18. Crown Form
19. Globular Form
20. Grown Proliferate-Flower Form
21. Reference
Index of Mudan Cultivar

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