''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
The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperat ...
.
Distribution
''Papaver radicatum'' is circumpolar in distribution and grows in arctic and alpine zones in Europe, North America, and Asia.
''Papaver radicatum'' grows at a latitude of 83°40'N on
Kaffeklubben Island
Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island ( da, Kaffeklubben Ø; kl, Inuit Qeqertaat) is an uninhabited island lying off the northern tip of Greenland. It contains the northernmost undisputed point of land on Earth.
Discovery
The first re ...
, making it one of the northernmost plants in the world. It appears on the
Coat of arms of Nunavut
The coat of arms of the territory of Nunavut was granted by a warrant of Roméo LeBlanc, Governor General of Canada, dated 31 March 1999, one day before the territory of Nunavut, Canada, was created. The same document specified the flag of Nunav ...
.
The plant is known for appearing in white and yellow colorations. The yellow variant is much more widely distributed, occurring out in the open, compared to the white flowers typically only found in more remote locations.
Characteristics
''Papaver radicatum'' has hair like structures covering the stem and sepals that are used to retain heat to act as insulation. The plant also shows
heliotropism where the flower grows to face the sunlight, and the petals reflect light towards the pistil.
The petals grow in a cup shape that are used to trap light and air inside to be used as warmth for the ovaries.
Pollination
''
Bombus polaris'' is a known pollinator of this species.
Its pollinator impact is heaviest in early spring, decreasing as the year continues.
As the year ends, the fly population is known to be the major pollinator at that time.
Taxonomy
The
Flora of North America lists four subspecies:
*''Papaver radicatum'' subsp. ''alaskanum'' (Hultén) J. P. Anderson
*''Papaver radicatum'' subsp. ''kluanensis'' (D. Löve) D. F. Murray
*''Papaver radicatum'' subsp. ''polare'' Tolmatchew
*''Papaver radicatum'' subsp. ''radicatum''
See also
*
Svalbard poppy
''Papaver dahlianum'', commonly called the Svalbard poppy, is a poppy species common on Svalbard, north-eastern Greenland and a small area of northern Norway. It is the symbolic flower of Svalbard. Some sources regard this species as part of '' ...
, another poppy of the extreme north.
References
External links
*
radicatum
Flora of the Arctic
{{Ranunculales-stub