Zhipeng Sheng, Zhaoyu Hou, Jun Tao, Daqiu Zhao^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.94, No.6, pp. 1751-1767, 2025, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2025.065874 - 27 June 2025

Abstract Summer high temperatures have severely impaired the growth of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) in East China. While compound fertilizer application enhances soil fertility and promotes plant growth, its efficacy in maintaining optimal plant performance under summer heat stress remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of compound fertilizer application on herbaceous peony growth during summer thermal stress. Results demonstrated that compound fertilizer supplementation significantly improved plant growth under elevated temperatures, manifesting enhanced phenotypic characteristics, elevated antioxidant enzyme activities, and increased nutrient accumulation. Compared to untreated controls, fertilized plants exhibited three key responses: (1) increased More >

Meida Chen¹, Tongfei Niu¹, Kai Gao², Zhanxiang Tan¹, Yuxin Zhao¹, Xiaogai Hou^1,*, Lili Guo^1,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.94, No.6, pp. 1921-1940, 2025, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2025.065738 - 27 June 2025

Abstract Floral scent serves as a key criterion for evaluating the ornamental value of flowering plants. Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), a traditional Chinese ornamental species, is valued for its vibrant coloration, intricate floral morphology, and positive cultural symbolism. In this study, dynamic headspace adsorption coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to analyze volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in flowers of 120 herbaceous peony cultivars at the half-opening stage. We detected 86 VOCs, comprising 25 aromatic compounds (79.70%), 21 hydrocarbons (10.51%), 29 terpenoids (8.37%), 7 fatty acid derivatives (1.03%), and 4 heterocyclic compounds (0.38%). The cultivar ‘Dr.… More >

Zhipeng Sheng, Yuting Luan, Cong Xu, Jun Tao^*, Daqiu Zhao^*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.92, No.3, pp. 801-814, 2023, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2023.024953 - 29 November 2022

Abstract Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.), as a high-end cut flower in the international market, has high ornamental and medicinal values. But in Northern China, drought is a major environmental factor influencing the growth and development of P. lactiflora. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) can evaluate gene expression levels under different stress conditions, and stable internal reference is the key for qRT-PCR. At present, there is no systematic screening of internal reference for correcting gene expressions of P. lactiflora in response to drought stress. In this study, 10 candidate genes [ubiquitin (UBQ2), UBQ1, elongation factor 1-α (EF-1α), Histidine (His), eukaryotic… More >

Yanqing Wu^1,2, Jiao Liu¹, Yuhan Tang², Daqiu Zhao², Jun Tao^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.91, No.9, pp. 2005-2016, 2022, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.021062 - 13 May 2022

Abstract The ornamental and commercial values of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) are directly related to its flower pattern. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the type formation of P. lactiflora flowers have not been studied in great detail. Previous studies identified, using integrated multipleomics analysis, revealed that APETALA2 (AP2) is an important candidate gene that modulates type formation of P. lactiflora flowers. To further reveal the expression mechanism of AP2 in P. lactiflora petals, we examined the profile of AP2 expression in the inner and outer petals of ‘ZiFengyu’ at various developmental stages using qRT-PCR and BSP+Miseq methylation analysis. Based on our data,… More >

Yanqing Wu^1,2, Jiao Liu¹, Daqiu Zhao², Jun Tao^1,2,*

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.91, No.9, pp. 2017-2032, 2022, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2022.020643 - 13 May 2022

Abstract Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is an important ornamental plant worldwide. In its natural state, P. lactiflora often manifests traits like rapidly elongating internodal growth, loose plant types, and soft inflorescence stems. However, very little has been known about the measures for controlling these traits. This study investigated the effect of applying paclobutrazol (PBZ) on the plant growth and flower quality in P. lactiflora. The results indicated that PBZ application reduced the plant height (8.05%), plant crown width (14.72%), and leaf area (10.90%), but increased the leaf thickness (18.18%) and stem diameter (over 11%) in P. lactiflora. Meanwhile, PBZ… More >