Papaver nudicaule

Summary

Papaver nudicaule, the Iceland poppy,[4] is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of Asia and North America, and the mountains of Central Asia as well as temperate China[5] (but not in Iceland), Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials. They yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, 1 foot (30 cm) curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1–6 inches long. They were first described by botanists in 1759. The wild species blooms in white or yellow, and is hardy from USDA Zones 3a-10b.

Papaver nudicaule
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Papaver
Species:
P. nudicaule
Binomial name
Papaver nudicaule
Synonyms[2][3]
List
  • Papaver macounii Greene, 1897
  • Papaver miyabeanum Tatewaki, 1935
  • P. f. amurense (N.Busch) H.Chuang, 1999

The Latin specific epithet nudicaule means "with bare stems".[6]

Cultivars edit

Cultivars come in shades of yellow, orange, salmon, rose, pink, cream and white as well as bi-colored varieties. Seed strains include: 'Champagne Bubbles' (15-inch plants in orange, pink, scarlet, apricot, yellow, and creamy-white); 'Wonderland' (10-inch dwarf strain with flowers up to 4 inches wide); 'Flamenco' (pink shades, bordered white, 112 to 2 feet tall); 'Party Fun' (to 1 foot, said to bloom reliably the first year in autumn and the second spring); 'Illumination' and 'Meadow Pastels' (to 2 feet, perhaps the tallest strains); 'Matador' (scarlet flowers to 5 inches across on 16 inch plants); the perennial 'Victory Giants' with red petals and 'Oregon Rainbows', which has large selfed, bicolor, and picoteed[check spelling] flowers and is perhaps the best strain for the cool Pacific Northwest[7] (elsewhere this strain's buds frequently fail to open).

The dwarf Gartenzwerg group,[8] and the cultivars 'Solar Fire Orange'[9] and 'Summer Breeze Orange'[10] have all won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[11]

Color variations
 
White
 
Orange
 
Red
 
Pink
 
Yellow
White is the dominant color, the others being recessive.

Cultivation edit

 
Bud capsule remains on a flower

The plants prefer light, well-drained soil and full sun. The plants are not hardy in hot weather, perishing within a season in hot summer climates.

Iceland poppies, like all poppies, possess exceedingly minute seeds and long taproots that resent disturbance.[citation needed] In cool summer climates on well-drained soils, Iceland poppies can live 2–3 seasons, flowering from early spring to fall.[12]

Iceland poppies are amongst the best poppies for cutting, as they last for several days in the vase.[13]

Genetics edit

The genetics of the garden forms of P. nudicaule have been studied, particularly with respect to flower colour.[14] The white flower colour is dominant with respect to yellow. Other colours, such as buff and orange, are recessive.

Toxicity edit

All parts of this plant are likely to be poisonous,[15] containing (like all poppies) toxic alkaloids. In particular, P. nudicaule has been shown to contain the benzophenanthidine alkaloid, chelidonine.[16] It also contains (+)-amurine, (-)-amurensinine, (-)-O-methylthalisopavine, (-)-flavinantine and (-)-amurensine.[17]

References edit

  1. ^ Linne, Carl von (1753). Species Plantarum. Vol. 1. Holmiae :Impensis Laurentii Salvii. p. 507.
  2. ^ "Papaver nudicaule". Flora of Pakistan. Retrieved 2014-04-27 – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  3. ^ "genus Papaver". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) online database. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  4. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. ^ "Papaver nudicaule". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  6. ^ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1845337315.
  7. ^ Brenzel, Kathleen Norris (2001). Sunset Western Garden Book. Menlo Park, CA: Sunset Books/Sunset Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-376-03874-8.
  8. ^ "Papaver nudicaule Gartenzwerg Group". RHS Plantfinder. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Papaver nudicaule 'Solar Fire Orange'". RHS Plantfinder. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Papaver nudicaule 'Summer Breeze Orange'". RHS Plantfinder. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  11. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 71. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  12. ^ Armitage, Allan M. (2001). Armitage's Manual of Annuals, Biennials, and Half-hardy Perennials. Portland, Or. [Great Britain]: Timber Press (OR). ISBN 0-88192-505-5.
  13. ^ "Poppy Primer". Floret Flowers. 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  14. ^ Fabergé, A. C. (1942). "Genetics of the scapiflora section of Papaver: I. The garden iceland poppy". Journal of Genetics. 44 (2–3): 169–193. doi:10.1007/BF02982827. ISSN 0022-1333.
  15. ^ Kingsbury, J. M. (1964). Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA: Prentice-Hall Inc.
  16. ^ Zhang, Y.; Pan, H.; Chen, S.; Meng, Y.; Kang, S. (1997). "[Minor alkaloids from the capsule of Papaver nudicaule L]". Zhongguo Zhong Yao Za Zhi = Zhongguo Zhongyao Zazhi = China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica (in Chinese). 22 (9): 550–551, 576. ISSN 1001-5302. PMID 11038947.
  17. ^ Philipov, S; Istatkova, R; Yadamsurenghiin, GO; Samdan, J; Dangaa, S (2007). "A new 8,14-dihydropromorphinane alkaloid from Papaver nudicaule L". Natural Product Research. 21 (9): 852–6. doi:10.1080/14786410701494777. PMID 17763104. S2CID 8609245.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Papaver nudicaule at Wikimedia Commons
  • Papaver nudicaule - informative article about Papaver nudicaule