''Papaver alpinum'',

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Oreomecon alpina'', the Alpine poppy or dwarf poppy, is a

poppy 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 ...

found in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. The

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: * Circumscribed circle * Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthr ...

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 Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. In other treatments, it includes species that have been treated as separate, and has at most one subspecies.

Description

The Alpine poppy is a short, upright, hairy

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

with odd-pinnate leaves. The flower grows to a height of 5 to 20 cm, with several upright and hairy stems. As with all poppy species, a

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latices are found in nature, but synthetic latices are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a wikt:milky, milky fluid, which is present in 10% of all floweri ...

is produced. The feathery

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are arranged in a ground hugging

rosette Rosette is the French diminutive of ''rose''. It may refer to: Flower shaped designs * Rosette (award), a mark awarded by an organisation * Rosette (design), a small flower design *hence, various flower-shaped or rotational symmetric forms: ** R ...

. The

flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

are hermaphroditic and radially symmetric, with a diameter of up to 5 cm. The fragrant flowers do not have

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, but produce

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 ...

. The flowering period is from July to August. All Alpine poppy subspecies have a strong

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

and make a good rockery plant. The root hairs are angled upwards, which helps secure the plant.

Subspecies

The Rhaetian Alps poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''rhaeticum'') has light yellow to orange petals and feathery foliage, and is found in the Central and

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

. In Austria, it is scattered around

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

; in Switzerland, it has only been found in the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

. The Salzburg Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''sendtneri'') also has pinnate deciduous leaves, with white flowers with a yellow heart. It grows only in the northern Alps and

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. The distinction from the ...

. It is found in moving limestone rubble, boulders, lime rock or dolomite. It prefers a high altitude of 1300 to 2600m. Although the protected plant is rare, it is the most commonly found white flowering Alpine poppy. In Austria it is found in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( ; ; , , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the second-highest popu ...

, Upper Austria,

and

. The Kerner-Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''kerneri''), or Karawanken Alpine poppy, has two to three times pinnate deciduous leaves and bright yellow flowers. It is found in the southeastern Limestone Alps, with a main distribution in the

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

n Alps. In Austria it is only found in the southern

. The Northeast Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''alpinum'', also known as ''P. burseri'' Crantz), or the Burser-Alpine poppy, has two to three times pinnate deciduous leaves with white flowers and is found in the northeastern Limestone Alps. In Austria it is found in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and

. Other subspecies:

Chemistry

The alkaloids

amurensine Amurensine is an alkaloid found in ''Papaver'' species such as '' P. alpinum'', '' P. pyrenaicum'', '' P. suaveolens'', and '' P. tatricum'' and '' P. nudicaule.'' It is a member of the isoquinoline Isoquinoline is an individual chemical spe ...

and amurensinine can be found in ''P. alpinum''.The isopavine structure of amurensine and amurensinine. F. Šantavý, M. Maturová and L. Hruban, Chem. Commun. (London), 1966, pages 36-36,

References

Sources

* Xaver Finkenzeller:''Alpine flowers'', Munich 2003, * Fischer, MA, Adler, W. & K. Oswald:''Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol,''Linz, 2005, * Bittkau C, Kadereit JW. 2002. Phylogenetic and geographical relationships in ''Papaver alpinum'' L. (Papaveraceae) based on RAPD data. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 123: 463–479. {{Taxonbar, from1=Q149346, from2=Q119149737 alpinum Flora of the Alps Flora of Austria Flora of Switzerland Alpine flora ~ Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus