Papaver heterophyllum | |
---|---|
Wind poppy (Papaver heterophyllum) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: | Papaveraceae |
Genus: | Papaver |
Species: | P. heterophyllum |
Binomial name | |
Papaver heterophyllum (Benth.) Greene | |
Synonyms [1] | |
|
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. [2]
It is a member of the family Papaveraceae , the poppy family of flowering plants mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere. [3] The name poppy originates from Early Old English popeġ, popaeġ, popæġ, or popei [4] and is suspected to have previously come from Late Latin papavum, popauer. [4]
The wind poppy consists of radially symmetrical flowers supported by long, thin, and wiry stems with lobed leaves. The flower has bright orange petals and a purple-black central disk. [5] The central disk is a deep red which distally fades at the petal bases, while the staminal filaments are dark red to black. It is a relatively short lived annual herb with a blooming period that can occur from February to late May, with the peak occurring in March and April. The wind poppy is a polyploid, with reports on chromosome number for the species concluding it as being octoploid. It is also self compatible and autonomously self-pollinating. [2]
Papaver heterophyllum can be compared to Papaver californicum because of the close species relationship delineated by similar vegetative and reproductive traits. It was stated by Ernst in 1962 that the “seedling stages are identical, and even the adult plants are so similar that determinations cannot be made without the gynoecia.” [6] The species are more easily distinguishable through leaf, flower, and fruit morphology.
Kadereit & Baldwin describe the gynoecium of Papaver heterophyllum to have a flat ovary roof with capsules that split apart through pores under it. The seeds of Papaver heterophyllum have a mean length of 803 μm, with a coarser seed surface when compared to the smaller seeds of P. californicum.
As for leaf morphology, Papaver heterophyllum has a delicate “dissection” pattern on the middle and distal cauline leaves. It is thought that the name heterophyllum came from the observation of the distinctive sharp transition between the proximal and middle cauline leaf margins. [2]
Papaver heterophyllum has no known subspecies.
Papaver heterophyllum resides under the genus Papaver, which contains over 100 species and includes other poppy species, with the type species being the opium poppy, or Papaver somniferum . [7] Current studies do not support that Papaver is a monophyletic group. [8]
A phylogenetic systematics study in 2011 concluded that P. heterophyllum could hybridize with P. californicum, which favors a botanical name change from its previous one, S. heterophylla. [2] This conclusion occurred almost fifteen years after it was first postulated by one of the same investigators in 1997 that S. heterophylla arose from Papaver and should not be placed into a separate genus. [2]
The 2011 paper by Kadereit & Baldwin compared Stylomecon heterophylla (now known as Papaver heterophylla) to Papaver californicum. S. heterophylla is closely related to P. californicum, but because of differing gynoecium and fruit morphology, this relationship was unexpected. The gynoecium of P. californicum has a sessile stigmatic disc and below the disc are small valves where the capsules open. This morphology is typical of Papaver while the gynoecium of S. heterophylla has a style over an ovary roof and below the roof are pores by which the capsules open. This morphology, specifically gynoecia with a style, is usually found in the Meconopsis family which led the wind poppy to be placed in that family. DNA evidence, along with a comparison of vegetative and reproductive traits, has since indicated that S. heterophylla is actually in the Papaver genus. [2]
Papaver heterophyllum falls under the family of Papaveraceae, which contains more than 825 species and 44 genera. [3]
Papaver heterophyllum is native to the coastal mountains of central California down to Baja where it grows on the sides of slopes below altitudes of 4000 feet (1200 m). [9] They are often found in chaparral, grasslands and oak woodlands. [10] They prefer an environment with low moisture and well-drained soil in part shade [11] and are uncommon even within their range. They seem to survive a relatively broad range of environmental conditions, at least compared to P. californicum. [2]
They are annuals and bloom in the spring but are especially abundant after a fire because the seeds are cued to germinate by cues such as heat, smoke, or charred wood. Within its habitat, wind poppy flowers usually stand a little taller than most of the surrounding vegetation which is thought to help them sway in the wind to attract insect pollinators from further away. [11]
The wind poppy is known for its bright orange color. This color results from the presence of carotenoids, organic pigments, in the flower, [11] although early studies have found that its flowers only contain a small amount of carotenoids. [12] These pigments are terpenoids often of the formula C40, [13] that absorb wavelengths of 400 to 550 nanometers. [14] These wavelengths correspond to the visible light spectrum from green to violet. Thus, the pigments reflect red to yellow light, giving the poppies their orange color.
The wind poppy is most often found in the wild, and rarely seeds except after wildfires. [15] While many poppy species are used medicinally across the world, the wind poppy is not known to be farmed, lauded for medicinal use, or consumed by humans. [11] However, wind poppy seeds are commercially sold, as the bright flower is thought to be appealing due to its bright color and lily-like scent. [16]
Since it is most often found in the wild and rarely seeds, there are no natural or manmade hybrids. There is seldom hybridization between the two species because successful reproduction requires P. heterophyllum to be the female parent. Kadereit & Baldwin attempted to hybridize P. heterophyllum and P. californicum (western poppy), which produced plants that developed well but were sterile. [2]
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.
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.
Eschscholzia is a genus of 12 annual or perennial plants in the Papaveraceae (poppy) family. The genus was named after the Baltic German/Imperial Russian botanist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz (1793–1831). All species are native to Mexico or the southern United States.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of pistils and is typically surrounded by the pollen-producing reproductive organs, the stamens, collectively called the androecium. The gynoecium is often referred to as the "female" portion of the flower, although rather than directly producing female gametes, the gynoecium produces megaspores, each of which develops into a female gametophyte which then produces egg cells.
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.
Platystemon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the poppy family containing the single species Platystemon californicus, which is known by the common name creamcups. It is native to Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah and Baja California, and is found in open grasslands and sandy soils below 6,000 feet (1,800 m) elevation.
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.
Papaver californicum is a species of poppy known by the common names fire poppy and western poppy.
Papaver radicatum is a species of poppy known by the common names Arctic poppy, rooted poppy, and yellow poppy. It is a flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae.
Papaver atlanticum, also known as the Moroccan poppy, Spanish poppy, and Atlas poppy, is a species of poppy.
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.
Papaver setigerum, common name poppy of Troy or dwarf breadseed poppy, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Papaveraceae.
Papaver croceum, common name ice poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae.
Hypericum heterophyllum is a flowering plant in the Hypericaceae family and is the only species in Hypericum sect. Heterophylla.
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.