Abstract: Woody Peony is a kind of precious flower and medicinal tree endemicto China, which has had a cultivation history of over 1500 years. So far, there are over 500 cultivars in China. Most of the research on the classification of woody peony and thedescription and identification of peony species were conducted by scientistsof the western countries on the basis of the peony plants and specimensintroduced into England, USA and France etc. from China during the18th-19th century. In recent years, the author has conducted a series of investigation andstudy on Chinese wild woody peonies in Anhui, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. The present paper proposes 3 new species and 1 new status of Chinesewild woody peonies. This achievement leads to provide the scientific andtheoretical basis for the study on the origin and natural classification ofpeony cultivars and exploitation, protection, utilization of Chinese precious, rare and endangered gene resources of wild woody peonies as well as thehybridization of new cultivars and expansion of peony cultivated areaetc. Osti's Peony (Paeonia ostii T. Hong et J. X. Zhang sp. nov.) The species name "ostii" is dedicated to Dr. Gian Lupo Osti, theItalian Vice President of International Dendrology Society. We do appr-eciate his friendly, valuable and precious help to promote the scientificresearch of Chinese wild woody peonies! Osti's Peony differs from Rock's Peony and its congeners are in moreor less lanceolate leaflets with entire margin, glabrous beneath and 4-7pairs of veins, the terminal leaflets 1-3 lobed;petals white or slightlytinged with dilutely reddish color, but without purple basal blotch;fila-ments, disks and styles dark purplish red all together. Jishan Peony (Paeonia jishanensis T. Hong et W. Z. Zhao sp. nov.) It differs from P. suffruticosa Andr. subsp. spontanea (Rehd.) Haw & Lauener in its white flowers and without petaloid stamens. A. Rehder, an American dendrologist, identified and nominated it asa new variety (P. suffruticosa Andr. var. spontanea Rehd.) in 1920, basedon the specimen No, 338 collected by W. Purdom in 1910 at a place loca-ted at 25 kilometers away from the west of Yanan. The original Latindescription of its main characteristics is:"floribus roseis, interdumstaminibus petaloideis praeditis" (flowers roseate, sometimes presence ofpetaloid stamens). In 1990, S. G. Haw L. A. Lauener changed Rehder's variety intosubspecies (P. suffruticosa subsp. spontanea) and identified the white-flow-ered wild peony which is distributed over Majiagou Jishan County inShanxi Province at the alt. 1450m to the same subspecies. The author thinks that the petaloid stamens is one of the most important characteristics of Peony Cultivars originating from wild speciesafter cultivation. It shouldn't be confused with wild peony. Therefore, Haw's subspecies should be lowered and changed to cultivar. The JishanPeony is an undoubted wild woody peony species. Yanan Peony (Paeonia yananensis T. Hong et M. R. Li sp. nov.) It's a rare and endangered wild woody peony species which has asuperficial resemblance to Rock's Peony being dark purplish blotched atthe base of petals, but is easily distinguished by few leaflets (up to 11), smaller and dilutely purplish roseate or white petals, reddish purple stigmaand disk etc. Rock's Peony [Paeonia rockii (Haw & Lauener) T. Hong et J. J. Listat. nov.] It's identified and nominated by S. G. Haw & L. A. Lauener as a new subspecies (P. suffruticosa Andr. subsp. rockii) based on "Rock'sVariety" which was bred from seeds collected by an American Geographer, Joseph Rock in 1925-1926 from a peohy with big white flower and darkpurple basal blotch in a lamasery of Choni County in the south of GansuProvince. The author of Genus Paeonia of Fl. Reip. Pop. Sin. was mistaken toidentify the peony with white flower and dark purple basal blotch whichis distributed over the south of Gansu and Mt. Taibai of Shaanxi Provincesetc. as Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. var. papaveracea (Andr.) Kerner. H. C. Andrews, a British plant taxonomist, studied a peony plant with white flower and dark purple basal blotch, which was introduced to England from Guangzhou, China and cultiuated in the garden of Sir Abraham Hume, and identified and nominated it as a new species，Paeonia papaveracea Andr. in 1806. After that, Kerner changed it as a variety, P. suffruticosa An dr. var. papaveracea (Andr.) Kerner in 1816.Bean，a British scientist, studied the peony planted in Sir Abraham Hume Garden. He thought it is neither a species nor a variety and reduced it as a cultirar, P. suffmticosa Andr. cv. ‘Papaveracea’The author thinks that Paeonia suffruticosa Andr. is a name for a big group of various cultivars while Rock's Peony is a wild woody peony species from which originating a series of cultivars. So the author raised Haw's subspecies to species grade, Paeonia rockii (Haw & Lauener) T. Hong et J. J. Li stat. nov.

Key words: paeonia, Sect.Moutan, P.ostii, P.jishanensis, P.yananensis, P.rockii