Arctomecon merriamii
Encyclopedia
Arctomecon merriamii is a species of poppy
known by several common names, including desert bearpoppy, white bearpoppy, and great bearclaw poppy. It is native to the Mojave Desert
of California
and Nevada
.
This is a taproot
ed perennial herb producing stout, waxy stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall. Hairy pale green leaves with rounded teeth are located around the base of the plant. The inflorescence
at the tip of each stem is composed of one white poppy flower with six petals up to 4 centimeters long and green sepal
s covered in long, white hairs. The fruit is a capsule up to 3.5 centimeters long containing many tiny seeds.
Papaveraceae
Papaveraceae, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family of 44 genera and approximately 770 species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, but almost unknown in the tropics...
known by several common names, including desert bearpoppy, white bearpoppy, and great bearclaw poppy. It is native to the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
This is a taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
ed perennial herb producing stout, waxy stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall. Hairy pale green leaves with rounded teeth are located around the base of the plant. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
at the tip of each stem is composed of one white poppy flower with six petals up to 4 centimeters long and green sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s covered in long, white hairs. The fruit is a capsule up to 3.5 centimeters long containing many tiny seeds.