blue poppy

Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Meconopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. It was created by French botanist Viguier in 1814 for the species known by the common name Welsh poppy, which Carl Linnaeus had described as Papaver cambricum. The genus name means poppy-like. Himalayan species discovered later were also placed in Meconopsis. In the 21st century, it was discovered that the Himalayan species were not closely related to the Welsh poppy, which has been restored to Papaver. All species placed in Meconopsis are now native to the Himalayas and surrounding regions. They have attractive, usually blue flowers.

Back