(pale poppy)
Select an option below for more information on this species
Photo of Papaver alboroseum by Mary Beth Cook
|
Pale poppy is a small alpine herb of slide rock and gravelly sites, white or pale-pink flowered, with a cluster of cleft basal leaves. The stems are
flexuose, up to 15 cm high, from a branching caudex often beset with persistent leaf bases. Leaves are gray-green,
pinnate in three leaflets, each leaflet 2-5
lobed. The leaf blades are white-bristly on both sides. Flowering stalks are leafless. Each plant has one to a few stalks, producing a single flower at the top of the stem. When in bud, the flower is covered by two light-haired
sepals. The two
sepals are shed once the flower opens. Flowers have four petals, white to rose-pink, yellow at the center. The petals are broader at the apex and blunt-tipped. Within the petals there are 10+
anthers and a
stigma disk with five or six yellow lobes. The fruit of pale poppy is a dry
capsule with light-colored, stiff hairs. The
capsules are
ovate to globose, stiff-bristled, and longer than they are broad. The
capsules open at the top by many pores to release numerous tiny seeds. Almost all other poppies in Denali are yellow-flowered, and have
capsules with dark-colored hairs. Consider yourself lucky if you've found this species – it's a rare and distinctive plant in Alaska.
Papaver alboroseum is a perennial
deciduous plant that flowers early in the season.
Poppies are
monoecious with bisexual flowers. Flowers are insect pollinated. Poppy species are typically self-incompatible, but
Papaver alboroseum has not been studied. Seeds are minute and wind-dispersed. Plants do not spread vegetatively.
Pale poppy is an amphi-Beringian endemic species that occurs in mountains on both sides of the Bering Strait. This species occurs in the mountains of southcentral Alaska, reaching its northern range limit in Denali. Four localities are known from Denali, all within 100 km of each other in the eastern side of the Park. Two sites are on the north side of the Alaska Range, two are on the south.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
Pale poppy is an alpine species. The four specimens were found from 1180 to 1466 m. All the plants were on steep slopes, of 15 to 32 degree inclines. There did not seem to be a preference for a particular aspect.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Plants were found growing on fine scree.
Well-drained, dry sites.
Considered rare in Denali National Park and Preserve.
