Arctomecon
Arctomecon is a genus of the family poppy family ( Papaveraceae ). The three species belonging to this genus, occur exclusively in the eastern Mojave Desert of North America. They grow there in the driest parts of the desert, where few other plants thrive. The plants of this genus are known there poppies because of the characteristic leaf shape Bear (Bear Poppy) or bear paw poppies ( bear paw poppy ). All three species are very rare and are partly present only in a few populations.
Description
The species of the genus are short-lived perennial herbaceous plants that form a taproot. The leaves are borne in a basal rosette. The blue- green leaves are 3-20 inches long, at the front end at the widest (up to 5 cm), front three to siebenlappig. The lobes ending in a sting. The leaves are densely covered with long, white hair. The upright inflorescence stem is hairy rough in the lower range, smooth top and carries only a few small deciduous leaf-like bracts. The umbrella-shaped inflorescence zymöse summarizes three to 20 flowers together. The flowers are hermaphroditic and radial symmetry. The two to three sepals are hairy or smooth sparingly. The most six, rarely four to eight petals are bright yellow or white. There are numerous stamens present. The stamens end at the same height as the scar or surpass them only slightly. Four or five carpels are fused into an ovary. Fertilized flowers form an oval capsule fruit, which may contain up to 100 seeds. The capsule opens with four to five longitudinal slots which extend at most a quarter of the fruit length. The seeds are shiny black and have a clear aril.
Species
- Arctomecon californica Torr. & Frem. is the largest species of the genus. The stalks can reach a length of 60 centimeters. The flowers are yellow and reach a diameter of up to nine inches. The distribution area of the hill east of Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon National Park and the area around Lake Mead. Occasionally, this plant grows on fallow land in settlements.
- Arctomecon merriamii Coville similar to A. californica, but has white flowers. The type usually comes west and north of Las Vegas in the Mojave desert before. The distribution area extends to the Death Valley.
- Arctomecon humilis Coville has also white flowers, but is much smaller and less hairy than the other two species. The plant is extremely rare and is fertilized by a very rare hermit Bee, Perdita meconis. The distribution area is a very small area near St. George, Utah.