Arctic poppy

Papaver nudicaule, the Iceland or Arctic poppy (recently transferred to the genus Oreomecon), is a hardy, short-lived perennial herb of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), often cultivated as a biennial. The plant forms a basal rosette of pinnately lobed, feathery, blue-green leaves 2.5–15 cm long, from which arise hairy, leafless scapes about 30 cm tall. Each scape bears a single nodding bud opening into a large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flower 5–8 cm across; wild forms are white or pale yellow, while cultivars include orange, salmon, pink, rose, and cream shades. The fruit is a small, ribbed capsule that releases numerous minute black seeds through pores beneath the persistent stigmatic disc. Native to subpolar regions of northern Asia, the Yukon, and other Arctic areas (though not Iceland itself), it grows in tundra, gravelly slopes, and open meadows, preferring light, well-drained soils and cool summers. All parts contain toxic alkaloids typical of the genus.