The Magic of Peony
One of our favorite flowers blooming in many gardens right now is the Peony, beyond the beautiful softness of their blossoms and the sturdy compounded + deeply lobed leaves, Peony has a long + fascinating ethnobotanical history as well as some fascinating interrelationships when out growing in our gardens. Peony flowers come in nearly every color except for Blue and is a member of the Buttercup family (Ranunculaceae.) There are 32 wild species of Peony globally and many more cultivars out there in the world, as this plant is beloved of landscape artists and gardeners worldwide. The wild ranges and origins of Peony are believed to be between the Mediterranean and Eastern China, and 2 species of Peony are endemic to North America. The peony is named after Paeon (also spelled Paean), who is a student of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine and healing. In East Asia the Peony also has legends around this beautiful plant, and has been in China for 4,000 years. China acknowledges the Peony as the countries flower representative and sees Peony as a symbol of honor, wealth + class. Peony is also adored by another common garden being, the ant. Ants are commonly seen crawling on the unopened buds of the peony. Together Peony + Ants offer a beautiful display of a healthy + reciprocol relationship through their unqiue mutualistic bond. Mutualistic means that both species benefit from their interractions, and in this case the Ants sip the sweet nectar from the Peony buds and the Ants in return give the Peony protection from blossom loving (destroying) insects.
While the peony blossom is surely a flower of deep enchantment and pure wonder for the senses, for many herbalists and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioners the root is just as alluring as the blossoms, for the many beneficial medicinal properties are contained in certain Peony Species. In Greece the entire plant was considered medicinal, and for this piece we will focus mostly on the 3 dominant Peony’s in Chinese Medicine which are all root medicines. White Peony Paeonia lactiflora; also known as Bai Shao Yao, Red Peony Paeonia lactiflora, and Tree Peony Paeonia suffruticosa also known as Mu Dan Pi. While all three Peony species work on the level of blood, each offer their own unique and different subtleties. While you may of noticed above that both Red + White Peony share the same latin name, the culmination of digging deeper has shown us that they are the same Peony, however White peony is the inner root, and the Red Peony is the outer bark and inner root together. While Peony offers multiple ways to support our bodies while healing for this blog I want to focus predominantly on the nuance between species (or processes) in regards to the Blood. In TCM the way in which the medicinal is prepared can bring out different qualities of herbal actions, using techniques of preparation like dry frying, honey baking and salt frying are just a few of the ways in which we can bring out certain qualities of a medicinal. I will cover a few of these for Peony below as well.
White Peony - Bai Shao Yao is a beloved medicinal on my apothecary shelf, it works through the reproductive, liver, blood, and spleen/Digestive system. The energetics of White Peony are cool and dry and this is the species and type of Peony I reach for when I seek to Tonify the blood. Raw/Dried Bai Shao have a stronger effect of the liver and roasting the roots until brown enhances the blood and Yin Nourishing effects of Bai Shao Yao.
Red Peony - Chi Shao is slightly cold energetically, and works through the blood. Red Peony is the species to reach for invigorating the blood, removing stasis, and stagnation and is an ally for aiding painful brusies, and pain from stagnation in the lower abdomen. Red Peony is often combined with White Peony for any spasmic and cramping pain associated with Blood Deficiency and Blood Stagnation.
Tree Peony - Mu Dan Pi works through the liver, heart and blood channels and is the peony I reach for when cooling the blood is most needed. Mu Dan Pi is most often paired with Red peony, and this is due to wanting to counteract the deep cooling properties of Mu Dan Pi and the potential for stagnation to arise through utilizing the moving qualities of Red Peony to negate any stagnation, or blockages without heating up the blood when we wish to cool the blood. When used Raw Mu Dan Pi best serves cooling the blood, when Dry Fried Mu Dan Pi helps to invigorate the blood and Charred to stop bleeding.
Sources - 3rd edition of Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica - Dan Bensky, Steve Clavey, Erich Stoger and w/ Andrew Gamble
Chris Marano - Materia Medica on Red Peony, White Peony and Tree Peony
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/peony.htm by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
