Аннотация:Despite the relatively modest number of recognized species (35), there are still many gaps in our understanding of the species’ limits is the genus Paeonia L. One explanation for this is that the morphological characters analyzed by taxonomists are not quite discrete. According to our results of analyses of ITS and ETS nucleotide sequences of nrDNA, which were based on large population samples of species (P. lactiflora) and species-complexes (P. anomala, P. obovata, P. tenuifolia), the genetic structure in the genus Paeonia appears to be highly versatile. The variability is due to mutations rather than substitutions. These mutations are pronounced as polymorphic sites that include two types of nucleotides. Results of complete plastid genome sequencing demonstrated a low level of nucleotide sequences divergence among Paeonia species. Presumably, the observed species diversity in the genus Paeonia constitutes a result of contemporary diversification, so that the species limits are still in the process of formation at the molecular as well as morphological level.