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, 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 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.
It occurs in the Mojave west and north of Las Vegas, as far as Death Valley.
Referencesedit
Christopher Grey-Wilson, Poppies (Portland: Timber Press, 2000) ISBN0-88192-503-9 pp. 226–229
External linksedit
Media related to Arctomecon at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Arctomecon at Wikispecies
January 01, 1970
arctomecon, genus, poppy, family, papaveraceae, commonly, called, bear, poppies, bear, poppies, after, distinctive, appearance, leaves, three, species, occur, only, northeastern, part, mojave, desert, north, america, uncommon, merriamii, scientific, classifica. 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 and are all uncommon Arctomecon Arctomecon merriamii Scientific classification Kingdom Plantae Clade Tracheophytes Clade Angiosperms Clade Eudicots Order Ranunculales Family Papaveraceae Subfamily Papaveroideae Tribe Papavereae Genus ArctomeconTorr amp Frem Species Arctomecon californica Arctomecon humilis Arctomecon merriamii 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 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 editImage Name Description Distribution nbsp Arctomecon californica also known as the Las Vegas bear poppy Largest of the genus with stems up to 2 feet high and bright yellow flowers up to 3 inches across Its range centers around the hills east of Las Vegas Nevada in the Grand Canyon National Park and in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area it may occasionally be seen growing in vacant lots in the city nbsp Arctomecon humilis White flowers but is much smaller and shorter and only sparsely hirsute It occurs only a small area near St George Utah nbsp Arctomecon merriamii Similar to A californica but has white flowers It occurs in the Mojave west and north of Las Vegas as far as Death Valley References editChristopher Grey Wilson Poppies Portland Timber Press 2000 ISBN 0 88192 503 9 pp 226 229External links edit nbsp Media related to Arctomecon at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Data related to Arctomecon at Wikispecies Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arctomecon amp oldid 1082552130, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
