Birth flower for May 4
Chinese peony
Meaning: Bashfulness, reluctance to part
The Chinese peony looks a lot like the tree peony, but it is a herbaceous plant that dies back to the ground each winter. In the ancient Chinese Book of Songs, young lovers meeting by a river give each other peonies as a parting gift, so it was also called the flower of farewell. Its root has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.