''Meconopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the poppy family

Papaveraceae The Papaveraceae, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family (biology), family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan dis ...

. It was created by French botanist Viguier in 1814 for the species known by the common name Welsh poppy, which

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

had described as ''

Papaver cambricum ''Papaver cambricum'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Meconopsis cambrica'', the Welsh poppy, is a perennial plant, perennial flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It has yellow to orange flowers and is widely grown as a garden plant. ...

''. The genus name means "poppy-like" (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''mekon'' poppy, ''opsis'' alike). 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 ''Papaver'' is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annual plant, annuals, biennial plant, biennials, and perennial plant, perennials native plant, native to temperateness, temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America ...

''. All species now placed in ''Meconopsis'' are native to the Himalayas and surrounding regions. They have attractive, usually blue flowers. The taxonomy of ''Meconopsis'' remains unsettled. Although many sources recognize the genus, others sink it into ''Papaver''. There is also uncertainty over the number of species, as many readily hybridise with each other producing viable seed. It is likely that some individually named species are in fact a single species but with an under-appreciated morphological diversity. A large proportion of species are

monocarpic Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die. The term is derived from Greek (', "single" + , "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning are '' hapaxanth'' ...

and as such are notoriously difficult to maintain in cultivation. ''Meconopsis'' species do not produce

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Meconopsis'' and its species have a complex taxonomic history. A European species was first described in 1753 by

as ''

'', commonly known as the Welsh poppy. It has a

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

, while all other then described ''Papaver'' species lacked one, having only a "stigmatic disc" (i.e. a disc-shaped region on the top of the

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

receptive to

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

). On the basis of this difference, in 1814, Louis Viguier transferred ''P. cambricum'' to his new genus ''Meconopsis'' as ''Meconopsis cambrica'', then the only species. Later, when mainly blue-flowered poppy-like species with styles like the Welsh poppy were discovered in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

and neighbouring regions, they were also placed in the genus ''Meconopsis''. However,

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies from 1995 onwards showed that the Welsh poppy was not closely related to the Himalayan species, but rather to ''Papaver'' species. In 2011, Kadereit ''et al.'' proposed that Linnaeus's original name should be restored. However, as ''Meconopsis cambrica'' was the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of the genus ''Meconopsis'', if the Welsh poppy was moved back to ''Papaver'', all the Himalayan species would have to be placed in this genus as well. In 2012, it was proposed that ''Meconopsis'' should become a

conserved name A conserved name or ''nomen conservandum'' (plural ''nomina conservanda'', abbreviated as ''nom. cons.'') is a scientific name that has specific nomenclatural protection. That is, the name is retained, even though it violates one or more rules wh ...

, with the new type ''Meconopsis regia''. This proposal has been accepted.

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

members of the subfamily Papaveroideae form a monophyletic clade. However, they have sometimes left relationships within this clade unresolved. A 2014 study found that neither ''Meconopsis'' nor ''Papaver'' were monophyletic. ''Meconopsis'' was split into two clades, a large one which the authors called section ''Eumeconopsis'', and a smaller one, ''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Eucathcartia'', containing four of the species included in the study. An alternative

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

resolves Clade III as the sister of Clades I and II. It was suggested that the generic name ''Meconopsis'' should be retained for Clade I, and Clade V should be treated as the genus ''Cathcartia''. This would still leave ''Papaver'' non-monophyletic. An alternative approach, adopted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

and since largely reversed, was to sink ''Meconopsis'', ''

Roemeria ''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 ...

'', ''Stylomecon'' and ''

Cathcartia ''Cathcartia'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae, native to China, Nepal, the eastern Himalayas, and northern Myanmar. Chloroplast DNA evidence supports a split of ''Cathcartia'' from the blue poppy genus ''Meconopsi ...

'' into ''Papaver''.

Sections

In 2017, Xiao and Simpson raised ''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Eucathcartia'' (Clade V) to the genus ''Cathcartia''. On the basis of a further molecular phylogenetic study they divided ''Meconopsis'' into four sections. *''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Meconopsis'' :*''

Meconopsis autumnalis ''Meconopsis autumnalis'', the Nepalese autumn poppy, is a yellow-flowered Himalayan poppy belonging to series Robustae, and is endemic to the Ganesh Himal range of central Nepal, where it was discovered in 2008 on a research expedition from th ...

'' P.A.Egan :*''

Meconopsis chankheliensis ''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'' ...

'' Grey-Wilson :*''

Meconopsis dhwojii ''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'' ...

'' G.Taylor :*''

Meconopsis discigera ''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'' ...

'' Prain :*''

Meconopsis ganeshensis ''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'' ...

'' Grey-Wilson :*''

Meconopsis gracilipes ''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'' ...

'' G.Taylor :*''

Meconopsis manasluensis ''Meconopsis manasluensis'' is a red-flowered Himalayan poppy belonging to ''Meconopsis'' subg. ''Discogyne'', which forms a natural grouping of 6 or 7 species within the genus all characterised by a stylar disc surmounting the ovary (lacking in ...

'' P A.Egan :*''

Meconopsis napaulensis ''Meconopsis napaulensis'', the Nepal poppy or satin poppy, is a plant of the family Papaveraceae. The plant contains beta-carbolines, which (in doses high enough) act as a psychedelic drug. However, its phytochemistry remains predominantly ...

'' DC. :*''

Meconopsis paniculata ''Meconopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It was created by French botanist Louis Guillaume Alexandre Viguier, Viguier in 1814 for the species known by the common name Welsh poppy, which Carl Linnaeus had de ...

'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis pinnatifolia'' C.Y.Wu & H.Chuang ex L.H.Zhou :*''

Meconopsis regia ''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'' ...

'' G.Taylor :*'' Meconopsis robusta'' Hook.f. & Thomson :*'' Meconopsis simikotensis'' Grey-Wilson :*'' Meconopsis staintonii'' Grey-Wilson :*'' Meconopsis superba'' King ex Prain :*'' Meconopsis taylorii'' L.H.J.Williams :*'' Meconopsis tibetica'' Grey-Wilson :*'' Meconopsis torquata'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis violacea'' Kingdon-Ward :*'' Meconopsis wallichii'' Hook. :*'' Meconopsis wilsonii'' Grey-Wilson *''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Aculeatae'' Fedde :*'' Meconopsis aculeata'' Royle :*'' Meconopsis bikramii'' Aswal (doubtfully placed here) :*'' Meconopsis concinna'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis delavayi'' Franch. Ex Prain :*'' Meconopsis forrestii'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis georgei'' G.Taylor :*'' Meconopsis henrici'' Bureau & Franch. :*'' Meconopsis horridula'' Hook.f. & Thomson :*'' Meconopsis impedita'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis lancifolia'' Franch. :*'' Meconopsis latifolia'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis muscicola'' Tosh.Yoshida, H.Sun & Boufford :*'' Meconopsis neglecta'' G.Taylor :*'' Meconopsis pseudovenusta'' G.Taylor :*''

Meconopsis pulchella ''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''. ...

'' Tosh.Yoshida, H.Sun & Bouford :*'' Meconopsis venusta'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis yaoshanensis'' Tosh.Yoshida, H.Sun & Boufford *''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Primulinae'' Fedde :*'' Meconopsis argemonantha'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis bella'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis florindae'' Kingdon-Ward :*'' Meconopsis lyrata'' (H.A.Cummins & Prain) Fedde :*'' Meconopsis primulina'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis sinuata'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis wumungensis'' K.M.Feng :*'' Meconopsis zang-nanensis'' L.H.Zhou *''Meconopsis'' sect. ''Grandes'' Fedde :*''

Meconopsis betonicifolia ''Meconopsis betonicifolia'' (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Meconopsis baileyi''), the Himalayan blue poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It was first species description, formally named for western science in 1912 by ...

'' Franch. :*'' Meconopsis biloba'' L.Z.An, Shu Y.Chen & Y.S.Lian :*''

Meconopsis grandis ''Meconopsis grandis'', the Himalayan blue poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native to China (Yunnan), Bhutan, northeast India and Nepal. Growing to tall and broad, this hardy herbaceous perennial has a b ...

'' Prain :*'' Meconopsis integrifolia'' (Maxim.) Franch. :*'' Meconopsis punicea'' Maxim. :*'' Meconopsis quintuplinervia'' Regel :*'' Meconopsis simplicifolia'' (D.Don) Walp. :*'' Meconopsis sherriffii'' G.Taylor A further species was described after Xiao and Simpson's classification: *''

Meconopsis gakyidiana ''Meconopsis gakyidiana'' (ཚེར་སྔོན་མེ་ཏོག in Dzongkha) is a species of blue poppy native to Eastern Bhutan, Western Arunachal Pradesh of India and Southern Xizang of China. It is the national flower of Bhutan. Desc ...

'' Tosh.Yoshida, Yangzom & D.G.Long Xiao and Simpson placed four former ''Meconopsis'' species in the genus ''Cathcartia'': *''Cathcartia chelidonifolia'' (Bureau & Franch.) Grey-Wilson = '' Meconopsis chelidoniifolia'' Bureau & Franch. *''Cathcartia oliveriana'' (Franch. ex Prain) Grey-Wilson = '' Meconopsis oliveriana'' Franch. ex Prain *''Cathcartia smithiana'' Hand.-Mazz. = '' Meconopsis smithiana'' (Hand.-Mazz.) G.Taylor ex Hand.-Mazz. *''Cathcartia villosa'' Hook.f. = ''

Meconopsis villosa ''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 botanis ...

'' (Hook.f.) G.Taylor

Cultivation

Himalayan varieties have the reputation for being difficult to grow from seed, but when germinating new plants, using fresh seeds will help. These plants are available in a variety of strong colours, including blue, red, orange, purple, white and yellow depending on species and cultivar. All meconopsis require an acid or neutral

soil pH Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...

, in a partially shaded sheltered position.

Cultivars

The following cultivars, of mixed or uncertain heritage, have won the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

:- * 'Bobby Masterton' (Infertile Blue Group) * 'Dalemain' (George Sherriff Group) * 'Keillour' *'Marit' * 'Mop-Head' (Fertile Blue Group) *'Mrs Jebb' (Infertile Blue Group) *'P.C. Abildgaard' (Infertile Blue Group) * 'Slieve Donard' (Infertile Blue Group) * 'Susan's Reward' (George Sherriff Group)

Pests and diseases

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, ''Meconopsis'' has been affected by the invasive golden root mealybug.

Damping off Damping off (or damping-off) is a horticultural disease or condition, caused by several different pathogens that kill or weaken seeds or seedlings before or after they germinate. It is most prevalent in wet and cool conditions. Symptoms There ar ...

may occur on seedling grown plants.

References

External links

Meconopsis.org
specialized website - includes further links

A ''Meconopsis'' visual reference guide {{Authority control Meconopsis, Papaveraceae genera