Arctic Poppy
Arctic poppies are one of the most northerly growing plants in the world. Covered in black hair they are hardy and tough, with some surprisingly delicate yellow or white petals. These flowers continually turn to face the sun, tracking its progress across the sky, and attracting insects to the centre of the bloom. Arctic poppies are found growing in meadows, mountains and dry river beds. They thrive among stones that both absorb the sun's heat and provide shelter for the roots. Within their Arctic range they are most common in the Nunavut region of Canada.
The Arctic poppy (Papaver laestadianum) is a rare, endemic, perennial plant species found only in the harsh, Arctic conditions of the northernmost parts of Scandinavia. The solitary flower head consists of four vibrant yellow petals, supported by an erect stem which is long and narrow and has thick, spreading black hairs. Within the cup-shaped flower are five stigma protruding from a flat disk.
The leaves growing in a dense rosette around the base of the stem are lance-shaped and pinate. The flowering stems of the Arctic poppy are around ten centimetres long, but the rest of the plant is relatively low-growing.
Common Name: Arctic Poppy
Scientific Name:Papaver radicatum, P. lapponicum
Unique Qualities: The arctic poppy is extremely tough, but its flower petals are delicate. It is yellow and can grow up to 25cm in height. The whole plant is covered with black hairs. The arctic poppy is a heliotrope meaning it turns its face to follow the sun. It does this to attract insects to the centre of its bloom.
Can be seen: Both yellow and white arctic poppies can be seen in Arctic areas. It is most common in Nunavut, Canada.
The arctic poppy likes to hang out in Arctic meadows. It also likes to grow in the mountains, in the gravel beds of dry rivers, or in rocky high plains. It likes to grow among the rocks because the stones absorb heat from the sun and provide moist shelter for the roots.
The plants benefit it that parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested, it is toxic to some mammals but its toxicity level is low.
Arctic poppies are very rare and uncommon globally. Some species are abundant in certain areas but within a narrow range.
The Arctic Poppy is about 10 to 15 cm tall at the end of their growing. The weight of it is very light since it is a plant. Some colours it comes in are yellow and white. The Arctic Poppy is supposed to be very tough except for the petals of it because it is very delicate. The poppy is covered with black hairs. The flower is formed from four petals and is then created into a cup like form. The kingdom is Plantae, the Phylum is Magnoliophyta, the Class is Magnoliopsida, Order is Papaverales, Family is Papaveraceae, Genus is Papaver, and species is papaver radicatum. The gestational period of a poppy is: first it is a seed, then it starts to sprout some roots, then the roots get bigger and a stem starts to form, finally it gets bigger and bigger until it is a fully grown Arctic Poppy.
The Arctic poppy has five distinctive adaptions to live in the Arctic, as follows:
~Aimee Morcos
The Arctic poppy (Papaver laestadianum) is a rare, endemic, perennial plant species found only in the harsh, Arctic conditions of the northernmost parts of Scandinavia. The solitary flower head consists of four vibrant yellow petals, supported by an erect stem which is long and narrow and has thick, spreading black hairs. Within the cup-shaped flower are five stigma protruding from a flat disk.
The leaves growing in a dense rosette around the base of the stem are lance-shaped and pinate. The flowering stems of the Arctic poppy are around ten centimetres long, but the rest of the plant is relatively low-growing.
Common Name: Arctic Poppy
Scientific Name:Papaver radicatum, P. lapponicum
Unique Qualities: The arctic poppy is extremely tough, but its flower petals are delicate. It is yellow and can grow up to 25cm in height. The whole plant is covered with black hairs. The arctic poppy is a heliotrope meaning it turns its face to follow the sun. It does this to attract insects to the centre of its bloom.
Can be seen: Both yellow and white arctic poppies can be seen in Arctic areas. It is most common in Nunavut, Canada.
The arctic poppy likes to hang out in Arctic meadows. It also likes to grow in the mountains, in the gravel beds of dry rivers, or in rocky high plains. It likes to grow among the rocks because the stones absorb heat from the sun and provide moist shelter for the roots.
The plants benefit it that parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested, it is toxic to some mammals but its toxicity level is low.
Arctic poppies are very rare and uncommon globally. Some species are abundant in certain areas but within a narrow range.
The Arctic Poppy is about 10 to 15 cm tall at the end of their growing. The weight of it is very light since it is a plant. Some colours it comes in are yellow and white. The Arctic Poppy is supposed to be very tough except for the petals of it because it is very delicate. The poppy is covered with black hairs. The flower is formed from four petals and is then created into a cup like form. The kingdom is Plantae, the Phylum is Magnoliophyta, the Class is Magnoliopsida, Order is Papaverales, Family is Papaveraceae, Genus is Papaver, and species is papaver radicatum. The gestational period of a poppy is: first it is a seed, then it starts to sprout some roots, then the roots get bigger and a stem starts to form, finally it gets bigger and bigger until it is a fully grown Arctic Poppy.
The Arctic poppy has five distinctive adaptions to live in the Arctic, as follows:
- The whole plant is covered in black hairs and that could be an adaptation because the hairs could be a warning sign that tells predators not to come near it.
- The plant had a low toxicity and that is probably an adaptation that they got over time so animals wouldn’t eat it.
- The white colour of the white arctic poppies is an adaptation because it camouflages with the arctic environment that it lives in.
- An adaptation for this plant is it moving to where the sun is so it could get heat from the sun.
- The poppy adapted to growing on rocks and know it adapted so much that the rock allows the roots of the poppy to be moist
~Aimee Morcos