''Arctomecon'' is a genus of the poppy family Papaveraceae commonly called the bear poppies or bear-paw poppies, after the distinctive appearance of the leaves. The three species occur only in the northeastern part of the Mojave Desert of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, and are all uncommon. The plants consist of one or a cluster of basal rosettes of leaves with a generally light blue or grey appearance. Closer examination shows the leaves to be generally wedge-shaped, with the end of each divided into several teeth, and entirely covered with long hairs 5–15 mm in length. The effect is that of a hairy

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

paw, whence both common and scientific name (''arktos'' bear + ''mecon'' poppy). The solitary terminal flowers are typical of poppies, with 2-3 sepals and 4-6 petals, either white or yellow, and starting out as nodding bud before become erect. The fruit capsule has 4-6 valves, opens from the top as it dries, releasing a handful of small wrinkled black seeds. ''Arctomecon'' habitat is typically the harshest and driest soils of the Mojave, where few other plants survive. They especially seem to favor soils with a high gypsum content.

Species

References

* Christopher Grey-Wilson, ''Poppies'' (Portland: Timber Press, 2000) pp. 226–229

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q138860 Papaveroideae Papaveraceae genera