ɪt wʌz fˈɔːɹmɚli ɹᵻɡˈɑːɹdᵻd æz ɐ sˈɛpɹət spˈiːsiːz, piːˈoʊniə ˈɛmlˈɑːkoʊswˌɪtʃɪˌaɪ, bˌʌt ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd tˈuː, ðə tʃaɪnˈiːz bˈɑːtɐnˌɪst hˈɑːŋ dˈeɪjuːən ɹᵻdˈuːst ɪt tʊ ɐ sˈʌbspiːsˌiːz ʌv piːˈoʊniə dˈɔːɹɪkə.
It was formerly regarded as a separate species, Paeonia mlokosewitschii, but in 2002, the Chinese botanist Hong Deyuan reduced it to a subspecies of Paeonia daurica.