Papaver cambricum

Last updated

Papaver cambricum
Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Papaver
Species:
P. cambricum
Binomial name
Papaver cambricum
Synonyms [1]
  • Argemone cambrica(L.) Desf.
  • Cerastites cambricus(L.) Gray
  • Meconopsis cambrica(L.) Vig.
  • Papaver flavumMoench
  • Papaver luteumLam.
  • Parameconopsis cambrica(L.) Grey-Wilson
  • Stylophorum cambricum(L.) Spreng.

Papaver cambricum, synonym Meconopsis cambrica, the Welsh poppy, is a perennial flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It has yellow to orange flowers and is widely grown as a garden plant. It is a native of damp, rocky sites in upland areas of Western Europe from the British Isles to the Iberian Peninsula. It has been used since 2006 as the basis for the logo of the political party Plaid Cymru.

Contents

Description

Foliage and unopened flower buds Schijnpapaver RIMG0046.JPG
Foliage and unopened flower buds
Papaver cambricum - MHNT Meconopsis cambrica MHNT.BOT.2007.43.17.jpg
Papaver cambricum - MHNT

Papaver cambricum has pinnately divided leaves composed of pinnately divided leaflets. [2] The plant can grow between 30–60 cm (12–24 in) tall. It blooms between May and July. [3] The flower is distinctively yellow or orange with four petals, and coarsely hairy green sepals that fall off soon after the flower opens. It spreads easily from the numerous small black seeds produced in the summer, from a long, ribbed capsule that opens with flaps. [3]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The species was originally named by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 Species Plantarum as Papaver cambricum. [4] In 1814, Louis Viguier separated it from Papaver , making it the type species of his new genus Meconopsis . One of the reasons was the presence of a style: other species in the genus Papaver have unstalked stigmas, arranged in a disc shape, whereas P. cambricum has stigmatic surfaces at the end of a distinct style. Later, many newly discovered species from the Himalayas and adjacent regions of China were added to the genus. As Meconopsis cambricum, it was the only species in the genus native to Europe. [5]

However, a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2011 showed that P. cambricum is not related to Meconopsis species, but is instead nested within Papaver, suggesting that Linnaeus' original name should be restored. However, this would have left the genus Meconopsis without a type species and hence without a valid name, unless the name were to be conserved. [5] A proposal to retain Meconopsis for the Asian species was accepted in 2017, with the conserved type Meconopsis regia G.Taylor. [6] The genus transfer is accepted by many sources. [1] [2] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Papaver cambricum is endemic to upland areas of Western Europe; it is found natively in the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and some western parts of the British Isles (Wales, south-western England and parts of Ireland). [2] [8] It has, however, been widely naturalised outside its native range. [2]

Papaver cambricum lives in damp, shady places on rocky ground. [2] In its most western locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover. It is especially well adapted to colonising gaps and crevices in rocks and stones. This habit has enabled it to colonise the urban environment, growing between paving slabs and at the edges of walls.

In culture

Orange Welsh poppy growing in mossy cracks in a garden wall Orange Welsh poppy.jpg
Orange Welsh poppy growing in mossy cracks in a garden wall

On 24 February 2006, the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru adopted a stylised image of P. cambricum as its party logo. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eschscholzia californica</i> Species of flowering plant and state flower of California

Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant flowering in summer, with showy cup-shaped flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. It is also used as food or a garnish. It became the official state flower of California in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poppy</span> Species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae

A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug mixture opium, which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium, during World War I, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime, especially in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms.

<i>Papaver rhoeas</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Papaver rhoeas, with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, red poppy, and Odai, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is native to north Africa and temperate Eurasia and is introduced into temperate areas on all other continents except Antarctica.

<i>Papaver</i> Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Papaver is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Papaveraceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Papaveraceae, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates like Eastern Asia as well as California in North America. It is almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae. Papaver is the classical name for poppy in Latin.

<i>Papaver somniferum</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae

Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamental plant grown in gardens. Its native range was east of the Mediterranean Sea, but has since been obscured and vastly expanded by introduction and cultivation from ancient times to the present day, being naturalized across much of Europe and Asia.

<i>Meconopsis</i> Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Meconopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It was created by French botanist Viguier in 1814 for the species known by the common name Welsh poppy, which Carl Linnaeus had described as Papaver cambricum. The genus name means "poppy-like". Himalayan species discovered later were also placed in Meconopsis. In the 21st century, it was discovered that the Himalayan species were less closely related to the Welsh poppy, which has been restored to Papaver. All species now placed in Meconopsis are native to the Himalayas and surrounding regions. They have attractive, usually blue flowers.

Meconopsis villosa, the Himalayan woodland-poppy, is an ornamental poppy, which is native of Nepal. The species was placed in the genus Cathcartia erected by J.D. Hooker to honour J.F. Cathcart, an Indian civil servant and amateur botanist who collected and hired native artists to illustrate the flowers of the Himalayas. It was transferred to Meconopsis by George Taylor in 1934. In 2017, it was suggested that the genus Cathcartia should be revived, and this species again treated as Cathcartia villosa.

<i>Roemeria argemone</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Roemeria argemone is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. Its common names include long pricklyhead poppy, prickly poppy and pale poppy. Its native range includes parts of Eurasia and North Africa, but it can be found growing wild in parts of North America, where it is an introduced species. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant.

<i>Papaver alpinum</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Papaver alpinum, synonym Oreomecon alpina, the Alpine poppy or dwarf poppy, is a poppy found in the Alps. The circumscription of the species varies considerably. In some treatments, the species is one of a group of related species, and includes several subspecies, four of which are found in Austria. In other treatments, it includes species that have been treated as separate, and has at most one subspecies.

<i>Meconopsis grandis</i> Species of plant

Meconopsis grandis, the Himalayan blue poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae, native to China (Yunnan), Bhutan, North East India and Nepal.

<i>Papaver umbonatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Papaver umbonatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. This species of poppy is known by the common name "bossed poppy". It is often misidentified as Papaver rhoeas, since they are very similar in form and appearance. Its native range includes the rocky plains of Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel.

<i>Papaver setigerum</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Papaver setigerum, common name poppy of Troy or dwarf breadseed poppy, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Papaveraceae.

<i>Meconopsis bella</i> Species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Meconopsis bella is commonly known as the pretty blue poppy. M. bella is a species of the genus Meconopsis which is found from central Nepal to southeastern Tibet. It is a herbaceous flowering plant and is a part of the poppy family Papaveraceae. This plant is also referred to as Meconopsis bella prain, since it was aptly names by the botanist Prain.

Meconopsis lancifolia is a plant species in the genus Meconopsis, in the family Papaveraceae. M. lancifolia is monocarpic, meaning that it flowers only once before dying.

<i>Papaver heterophyllum</i> Plant species

Papaver heterophyllum, previously known as Stylomecon heterophylla, and better known as the wind poppy, is a winter annual herbaceous plant. It is endemic to the western California Floristic Province and known to grow in the area starting from the San Francisco Bay Area of Central Western California southwards to northwestern Baja California, Mexico. Its main habitat is often described as mesic and shady, with loamy soils such as soft sandy loam, clay loam, and leaf mold loam.

Papaver quintuplinervium, the harebell poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to China. As its synonym Meconopsis quintuplinervia it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Papaver armeniacum</i> Species of plant in the genus Papaver

Papaver armeniacum, the Armenian poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the Caucasus region. It produces the benzylisoquinoline alkaloid armepavine.

<i>Roemeria</i> Genus of Papaveraceae plants

Roemeria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to Macaronesia, Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, the Caucasus, the Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, the western Himalayas, Pakistan, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. A 2006 molecular analysis revised the taxonomy of Papaver, elevating Roemeria to the genus level, and including the species formerly in Papaver sect. Argemonidium.

<i>Oreomecon</i> Genus of plants

Oreomecon is a genus in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It was established in 2022 for what was previously treated as Papaver sect. Meconella in order to ensure that the genus Papaver was monophyletic. As of June 2023, names in the genus Oreomecon had only been published for better known and phylogenetically understood species present in Europe, either as natives or aliens.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Papaver cambricum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Stace, Clive A. (2019). New Flora of the British Isles (4th ed.). Middlewood Green, Suffolk: C & M Floristics. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-5272-2630-2.
  3. 1 2 Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain. Reader's Digest. 1981. p. 33. ISBN   9780276002175.
  4. ↑ D. Prain (1906). "A review of the genera Meconopsis and Cathcartia". Annals of Botany . old series. 20 (4): 323–370. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.aob.a089107.
  5. 1 2 Kadereit, Joachim W.; Preston, Chris D. & Valtueña, Francisco J. (2011), "Is Welsh Poppy, Meconopsis cambrica (L.) Vig. (Papaveraceae), truly a Meconopsis?", New Journal of Botany , 1 (2): 80–87, Bibcode:2011NJBot...1...80K, doi:10.1179/204234811X13194453002742, S2CID   84167424
  6. ↑ Wiersema, J.H.; Turland, N.J.; Barrie, F.R.; Greuter, W.; Hawksworth, D.L.; Herendeen, P.S.; Knapp, S.; Kusber, W.-H.; Li, D.-Z.; Marhold, K.; May, T.W.; McNeill, J.; Monro, A.M.; Prado, J.; Price, M.J. & Smith, G.F., eds. (2018) [continuously updated]. "Search for 'Meconopsis'". International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Shenzhen Code) adopted by the Nineteenth International Botanical Congress Shenzhen, China, July 2017: Appendices I–VII. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  7. ↑ "Papaver cambricum". The Royal Horticultural Society. 2018. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  8. ↑ Francisco J. Valtueña, Chris D. Preston & Joachim W. Kadereit (2012). "Phylogeography of a Tertiary relict plant, Meconopsis cambrica (Papaveraceae), implies the existence of northern refugia for a temperate herb" (PDF). Molecular Ecology . 21 (6): 1423–1437. Bibcode:2012MolEc..21.1423V. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2012.05473.x. PMID   22320448. S2CID   23714530.
  9. ↑ "Plaid image change 'a new start'". BBC News. 24 February 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.