''Papaver alpinum'', the Alpine poppy or dwarf poppy, is a

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, ''Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug opi ...

found in the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. This species includes several sub-species, four of which are found in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Description

A short, upright, hairy

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with leaves one to two odd pinnate. Grows to a height of 5 to 20 cm, with several upright and hairy stems. As with all poppy species, a

latex Latex is an emulsion (stable dispersion) of polymer microparticles in water. Latexes are found in nature, but synthetic latexes are common as well. In nature, latex is found as a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms ...

is produced. The feathery

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are arranged in a ground hugging rosette. The

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

are hermaphroditic and are radially symmetric with a diameter of up to 5 cm. The fragrant flowers do not have

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

, but produce

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

. The flowering period is from July to August. All alpine poppy sub-species have a strong

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproo ...

and make a good rockery plant. To help secure the plant, the root hairs are angled upwards.

Subspecies

Rhaetian Alps poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''rhaeticum'') has light yellow to orange petals and feathery foliage is found in the

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

. In Austria, it is scattered around

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

and

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, in Switzerland allegedly only in the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...

. Salzburg Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''sendtneri'') also has pinnate deciduous leaves, with white flowers with a yellow heart. This grows only in the northern Alps and

Northern Limestone Alps The Northern Limestone Alps (german: Nördliche Kalkalpen), also called the Northern Calcareous Alps, are the ranges of the Eastern Alps north of the Central Eastern Alps located in Austria and the adjacent Bavarian lands of southeastern Germany. ...

. It is found in moving limestone rubble, boulders, lime rock, or

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. It prefers a high altitude of 1300m to 2600m. Although the protected plant is rare, it is the most commonly found white flowering alpine poppy. In Austria it is found in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...

, Upper Austria,

and

. Kerner-Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''kerneri''), or Karawanken Alpine poppy, has two to three times pinnate deciduous leaves and bright yellow flowers. It is found in the south-eastern Limestone Alps, with a main distribution in the

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n Alps. In Austria it is only found in the southern

. North-east Alpine poppy (''P. alpinum'' subsp. ''alpinum''; syn. P. burseri Crantz), or Burser-Alpine poppy, has two to three times pinnate deciduous leaves with white flowers and is found in the north eastern Limestone Alps. In Austria it is found in Lower Austria, Upper Austria and

. Other subspecies, P. alpinum ssp ernesti-mayeri is white; P. alpinum subsp. dubium is bright red; P. alpinum subsp. corona-sancti-stephani (Zapal.); P. alpinum subsp. degenii (Urum. & Jáv.), found in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

and considered a full species by some authors.

Chemistry

The alkaloids amurensine and amurensinine can be found in ''P. alpinum''.The isopavine structure of amurensine and amurensinine. F. Šantavý, M. Maturová and L. Hruban, Chem. Commun. (London), 1966, pages 36-36,

References

Sources

* Xaver Finkenzeller:''Alpine flowers'', Munich 2003, * Fischer, MA, Adler, W. & K. Oswald:''Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol,''Linz, 2005, * Bittkau C, Kadereit JW. 2002. Phylogenetic and geographical relationships in Papaver alpinum L. (Papaveraceae) based on RAPD data. Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 123: 463–479. {{Taxonbar, from=Q149346 alpinum Flora of the Alps Flora of Austria Flora of Switzerland Alpine flora ~ Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus