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Oreomecon nudicaulis
Icelandic poppy is a hardy, short-lived perennial, often grown as a biennial, prized for its large papery flowers in white or yellow. The key to growing it is cool weather, full sun and well-drained soil, as it perishes in hot summers.
Oreomecon nudicaulis, synonym Papaver nudicaule, the Iceland poppy, is a boreal flowering plant. It is native to subpolar regions of Asia and the Yukon in North America (but not Iceland), and has been introduced elsewhere (south Argentina, Colorado, Greenland, and Tibet). Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials. They yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, 1 foot (30 cm) curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1–6 inches long. They were first described by botanists in 1759. The wild species blooms in white or yellow, and is hardy from USDA Zones 3a-10b.
The plants prefer light, well-drained soil and full sun. The plants are not hardy in hot weather, perishing within a season in hot summer climates.
Iceland poppies, like all poppies, possess exceedingly minute seeds and long taproots that resent disturbance. In cool summer climates on well-drained soils, Iceland poppies can live 2–3 seasons, flowering from early spring to fall.
All parts of this plant are likely to be poisonous, containing (like all poppies) toxic alkaloids. In particular, O. nudicaulis has been shown to contain the benzophenanthidine alkaloid, chelidonine. It also contains (+)-amurine, (-)-amurensinine, (-)-O-methylthalisopavine, (-)-flavinantine and (-)-amurensine.
Bristle Poppy · Oriental poppy · Dark-spotted poppy · Armenian poppy · Oriental poppy · Oreomecon radicata · Common Poppy · Opium Poppy · Poppy
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oreomecon nudicaulis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
