Oreomecon nudicaulis

Oreomecon nudicaulis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Oreomecon
Species:
O. nudicaulis
Binomial name
Oreomecon nudicaulis
(L.) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso
Synonyms
  • Papaver alpinum subsp. nudicaule (L.) Nyman
  • Papaver alpinum var. nudicaule (L.) Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Papaver nudicaule L.
  • Papaver nudicaule subsp. nudicaule

Oreomecon nudicaulis, synonym Papaver nudicaule, the Iceland poppy, is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of Asia and North America, and the mountains of Central Asia as well as temperate China (but not in Iceland), 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 Latin specific epithet nudicaulis means "with bare stems".