English: Steppe peony; Fern leaf peony.
Synonym: Paeonia biebersteiniana; Paeonia carthalinica.
BotanyHerb; perennial; 30 to 60 cm tall.
Region: Caucasus, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Kazakhstan.
Leaves: alternate; finely divided into almost thread-like segments, 0.5 to 6 mm wide, with a blunt to rounded tip, dark green above, lighter glaucous green below; close together on the stems.
Flowers: single, at stem tip, red, scented, 6 to 8 cm across, cup-shaped; petals red, deep crimson, long inverted, egg-shaped, with a rounded or blunt top; stamens numerous, yellow, ± 2 cm; carpels 3, sometimes 2, coarse felty haired.
Pollination: by insects; self-fertile.
Fruit: 2 cm long, dry, dehiscent follicles.
Chromosomes: 10; diploid; 2n=10.