Medicinal effects and functions of peony flowers

Everyone loves peonies because when they bloom, they give a feeling of grace and wealth. Peonies are our national flower and are particularly majestic. Peonies come in several colors, including red, pink, and white. In Ningcheng, Chifeng, my country, there is a group of peonies that have been passed down for more than 300 years. They were given as dowry by Emperor Kangxi. In fact, peony is also a very good Chinese medicine. So what are the medicinal effects and functions of peonies?

Peony has high medicinal value. The roots of peony are processed into "Danpi", which is a precious Chinese herbal medicine. It is slightly cold in nature, spicy in taste, non-toxic, and enters the heart, liver, and kidney meridians. It has the effects of dispersing blood stasis, clearing blood, harmonizing blood, relieving pain, and regulating menstruation. It also has the effects of lowering blood pressure, and has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. Long-term use can benefit the body and prolong life. It nourishes blood and liver, relieves depression and removes blood stasis. It is suitable for facial chloasma and skin aging. Drinking it regularly can invigorate the lungs and make your face rosy. It can also improve menstrual disorders, dysmenorrhea, and stop spontaneous sweating and night sweats.

Peony bark has antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-tumor, hemostatic, blood stasis removing, heat-clearing and detoxifying, sedative, analgesic, and antispasmodic activities. It can also promote the phagocytic function of monocytes, enhance the body's specific immune function, and increase the weight of immune organs. When using it, please note that it should be used with caution in people with blood deficiency and coldness, pregnant women and those with heavy menstruation.

Peony (scientific name: Paeonia suffruticosa Andr.) is a plant of the Paeoniaceae family and the Paeonia genus. It is a perennial deciduous shrub. The stem is up to 2 m tall; the branches are short and thick. The flowers are bright in color, fragrant, elegant, and magnificent, and are known as the "king of flowers". Among the cultivated types, there are hundreds of varieties, mainly based on the color of the flowers. There are many varieties of peonies with many colors, with yellow, green, flesh-red, dark red, and silver-red being the best, especially yellow and green. Peonies are large and fragrant, so they are also known as "national beauty and natural fragrance."

It likes warm, cool, dry and sunny environment. It likes sunlight, but is also tolerant to partial shade, cold, drought and weak alkali. It avoids waterlogging, heat and direct sunlight. It is suitable for growing in loose, deep, fertile, high and dry, well-drained neutral sandy loam. It grows poorly in acidic or heavy clay soils.

Peony is hailed as the king of flowers, and there are many cultural and painting works related to it. It is a native flower of China, with thousands of years of natural growth and more than two thousand years of artificial cultivation history. Its flowers are large, beautiful in shape, bright in color and strong in fragrance, and have been praised by people of all generations. It has high ornamental and medicinal value. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was recorded as a medicinal plant in the "Shennong Bencao Jing", and there are many texts about it in various ancient books of all dynasties.

The raw materials of peony flower tea are: natural peony petals in full bloom of the tea superorder group of the peony group of the angiosperm family Paeoniaceae. Research using philological methods found that the peony of the Theaceae order has the evolutionary characteristics of Ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. It originated in the Carboniferous and Devonian periods, evolved in the Permian period, the original group appeared in the Triassic period, and flourished in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It can be called the "living fossil" of the most primitive and ancient life among plants.

Peony flower tea is made from three types of petals: black peony, red peony and white peony. The dry peony tea made from black peony petals is black-red in color, and its soup color and taste are very similar to Dianhong, with a slight taste of nectar; the dry red peony tea is peach-red with a slight purple color, and the dry white peony tea is yellow-white... The production process of peony tea is complicated and sophisticated, and the cost is high, so it is not widely circulated in the market.