(2001)  
 
....only a solitary, terminal flower is fully developed without additional flower buds, the condition seen in the majority of individuals of P. anomala. Rarely in P. anomala may there be one or two underdeveloped flower buds in the upper leaf axils. In such cases, both conditions, i.e., with or without additional underdeveloped flower buds, may be observed within a single population of P. anomala.

(2001)  
 
Paeonia anomala subsp. veitchii (Lynch) D. Y. Hong & K. Y. Pan, comb. et stat. nov. Basionym: Paeonia veitchii Lynch, Gard. Chron, ser. 3, 46: 2, fig. 1. 1909. ......TYPE: China. Sichuan: "Tatien-lu" [from protologue, i.e., Kangding], "8--10,000 ft." [from specimen], s.d., E. H. Wilson (for James Veitch & Sons) 3034 ......Herbs perennial, 30--90 cm tall. Roots cylindric, thick, 1--2 cm diam., attenuate downward. Stem glabrous. Leaves biternate, sometimes leaflets decurrent at base; leaflets several times segmented; ultimate segments (37--)50--100(--180), dark green, linear or linear-lanceolate, 0.25--2 cm, abaxially usually glabrous, rarely hispid or hirsute along veins, adaxially hispid or hirsute along veins, apex acuminate. Flowers 1 to 4 per stem, terminal and axillary, 4.5--10 cm diam.; lateral flowers sometimes with a leaf below; bracts 2 or 3, leaflike, lanceolate, unequal, margin lobed or entire; 1 or 2 underdeveloped flower buds often also present in axils of distal leaves. Sepals 3 to 5, broadly ovate, 1.5--1.7 x 1--1.4 cm, apex usually caudate. Petals 6 to 9, purple-red, red, or pink, rarely nearly white, obovate, 2.5--4 x 1.5--3 cm, apex notched or entire. Filaments purple, 5--10 mm. Disc fleshy, enveloping only base of carpels. Carpels (1 or)2 or 3(to 5), hispid or hirsute, very rarely glabrous. Follicles ovoid-cylindric, 1--2.7 x 1--1.5 cm, hispid or hirsute. Seeds black, glossy, oblong-globose, ca. 6 x 5.5 mm. ....Flowering from late April to June in Sichuan, and from early June to the middle of July in Gansu and Qinghai. Fruits mature from August to early September. ....Relatively moist habitats: forests, grasslands at forest margins, scrub, or subalpine and alpine meadows with shrubs, from 1800 to 3900 m. .....Endemic to China, with a wide distribution: central and southern Gansu, southern Ningxia (Liupan Shan), eastern Qinghai, southern Shaanxi (Qin Ling), northern Shanxi (Wutai Shan), western Sichuan, and extreme eastern Xizang.

(2001)  
 
Paeonia veitchii differs from P. anomala, according to Stern (1946) and Pan (1979), in having several flowers on a stem instead of a solitary flower as in P. anomala. We examined some 175 specimens of P. veitchii and observed that the number of flowers on a stem varies greatly. At one extreme, there can be four fully developed flowers per stem. The majority of individuals of P. veitchii possess one to three flowers or underdeveloped flower buds per stem in addition to the terminal, fully developed flower. At the other extreme, only a solitary, terminal flower is fully developed without additional flower buds, the condition seen in the majority of individuals of P. anomala. Rarely in P. anomala may there be one or two underdeveloped flower buds in the upper leaf axils. In such cases, both conditions, i.e., with or without additional underdeveloped flower buds, may be observed within a single population of P. anomala. Paeonia veitchii is evidently different from P. anomala in the number of flowers per stem, but this character is continuously variable and bridges the two taxa.
.....The two taxa are allopatrically distributed, with Paeonia anomala to the north and northwest of the Gobi Desert and P. veitchii to the south. On the basis of this disjunct distribution, one might argue in favor of separation at specific rank. However, the morphological differences between the two taxa are not clear cut, showing considerable intergrading especially in flower number per stem. Therefore, subspecific rank seems more appropriate.

(2001)  
 
First, we could find no significant differences between Paeonia beresowskii Komarov and P. veitchii. After studying the protologue (Komarov, 1921: 5--6) and the specimens from the type locality (Songpan County in Sichuan), we follow Stern (1946) and Fang (1958) in reducing it to the synonymy in P. veitchii.

(2001)  
 
Paeonia woodwardii, according to its protologue (Stern & Cox, 1930: 43), differs from P. veitchii in its smaller stature (ca. 30 cm tall, vs. up to 90 cm in P. veitchii) and longer, hispid hairs along the veins on both leaf surfaces. Stern (1946), followed by Fang (1958), recognized P. woodwardii as a variety under P. veitchii. However, as earlier mentioned, P. veitchii is variable in its leaf indumentum, usually having hairs only adaxially, but rarely also abaxially. We examined specimens from southern Gansu, including the type locality (Jone in Gansu) of P. woodwardii, and found both states of leaf indumentum. Therefore, we regard P. woodwardii as merely representing part of the specific variation found within P. veitchii and do not formally recognize it.