Flora of North America species comparison

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Papaver radicatum

Papaver radicatum subsp. radicatum

arctic poppy, iceland poppy, Macoun's poppy, root poppy
Photo is of parent taxon

root poppy
Habit Plants loosely to densely cespitose, to 1.5 dm. Plants loosely cespitose, to 1.7 dm, with persistent, broadly lanceolate leaf bases.
Leaves

to 12 cm;

petiole 2/3 length of leaf;

blade green on both surfaces, not glaucous, lanceolate, 1-2x-lobed with 2-3(-4) pairs of primary lateral lobes;

primary lobes broadly lanceolate or strap-shaped, apex obtuse to acute.

to 12 cm;

petiole to 2/3 length of leaf;

blade green on both surfaces, lanceolate, with 2-4 pairs of primary lateral lobes, hirsute;

primary lobes lanceolate to narrowly strap-shaped, apex acute to rounded.
Inflorescences

scapes erect or bowed and decumbent, less than 15 cm, sparsely to densely hispid.

scapes erect and curved, hispid, trichomes light colored.
Flowers

to 6.5 cm diam.;

petals yellow or white, rarely pink tinged, or brick red;

anthers yellow;

stigmas 4-7, disc convex.

to 5 cm diam.;

petals yellow.
Capsules

obovoid to subglobose, 1-2.5 times longer than broad, strigose, trichomes light to dark brown or black.

broadly obovoid to ellipsoid, to 1.5 cm, strigose, trichomes brown, generally without thickened bases.
2n

= 56, 70.

Papaver radicatum

Papaver radicatum subsp. radicatum
Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Dry, sandy soils, rocky tundra communities, fellfield, blockfields, and screes at highest elevations and northernmost latitudes
Elevation 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; NM; UT; WY; AB; BC; NF; NT; QC; YT; Arctic and alpine North America; Europe; Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; NF; NT; QC; YT; Greenland; circumpolar
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies numerous (4 in the flora).

Many infraspecific taxa have been named from throughout the extensive range of this extremely variable species. Within North America, the following broadly circumscribed subspecies are generally, but not always, distinguishable.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Scapes densely hispid with dark trichomes; capsules with dark brown trichomes.
subsp. polare
1. Scapes hispid with light-colored trichomes (sometimes dark brown in subsp. alaskanum); capsules with light to dark brown trichomes.
→ 2
2. Flowers 2 cm diam. or less; capsules ellipsoid-subglobose to oblong-obconic; Rocky Mountain system from Alaska and Yukon southward.
subsp. kluanense
2. Flowers mostly greater than 2 cm diam.; capsules broadly obovoid to ellipsoid; Aleutian Islands n, e across arctic Alaska and Canada to Greenland.
→ 3
3. Capsule trichomes generally with abruptly thickened bases; Aleutian Islands, islands of the Bering Strait and w coast of Alaska.
subsp. alaskanum
3. Capsule trichomes generally without thickened bases; w, n Alaska e to Canada and Greenland.
subsp. radicatum
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Papaveraceae > Papaver > sect. Meconella Papaveraceae > Papaver > sect. Meconella > Papaver radicatum
Sibling taxa
P. alboroseum, P. argemone, P. californicum, P. dubium, P. gorodkovii, P. hybridum, P. lapponicum, P. macounii, P. mcconnellii, P. nudicaule, P. orientale, P. pygmaeum, P. rhoeas, P. somniferum, P. walpolei
P. radicatum subsp. alaskanum, P. radicatum subsp. kluanense, P. radicatum subsp. polare
Subordinate taxa
P. radicatum subsp. alaskanum, P. radicatum subsp. kluanense, P. radicatum subsp. polare, P. radicatum subsp. radicatum
Synonyms P. lapponicum subsp. labradoricum, P. lapponicum subsp. occidentale, P. lapponicum subsp. porsildii, P. nigroflavum, P. nudicaule var. labradoricum, P. radicatum subsp. labradoricum, P. radicatum var. labradoricum, P. radicatum subsp. occidentale, P. radicatum subsp. porsildii
Name authority Rottbfll: Skr. Kifbenhavnske Selsk. Laerd. Elsk. 10: 455. (1770) unknown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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