Paeonia californica

California peony

Family: Paeoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

California peony is a native perennial found in southern Central Coast, southern Coastal Range, southern Coastal California, Transverse Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges in chaparral and coastal scrub habitats at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from January to May, this plant produces large burgundy to dark red flowers with petals 15 to 25 millimeters long. Growing with generally branched stems, the peony reaches a moderate height with divided green foliage. Its leaves feature primary divisions 3 to 9 centimeters long with ultimate segments that are wide-linear or oblong, creating a delicate and intricate leaf structure. The plant produces distinctive fruits 3 to 4 centimeters long, containing seeds approximately 16 millimeters in size.

Habitat: Chaparral, coastal scrub

Bloom period: Jan-May

Elevation: < 1500 m

Bioregions: s CCo, SCoR, SCo, TR, PR

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, Ventura, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Contra Costa, Humboldt

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.