Chi Shao

Paeonia lactiflora is a herbaceous perennial in the family Paeoniaceae, native to central and eastern Asia, including northern China, Mongolia, eastern Siberia, and parts of Tibet, where it grows on grassy slopes, in open woodlands, and along forest margins. The plant produces a clump of erect, glabrous stems 50-100 cm tall arising from thick, spindle-shaped, brownish tuberous roots. The leaves are biternate or pinnately compound, with lanceolate to elliptic leaflets having entire, sometimes red-margined edges. Solitary or few-flowered terminal blossoms appear in late spring to early summer, 8-12 cm across, with fragrant white to pale pink petals and numerous yellow stamens in the wild form; numerous cultivated forms exist. The fruits are follicles containing dark seeds. Chi Shao is prepared from the unpeeled root of wild-collected or cultivated plants, distinguishing it from the peeled white root (Bai Shao).