Oreomecon nudicaulis

The first scientific name of Oreomecon nudicaulis was Papaver nudicaule, given to the species in 1753 by Linnaeus.^[2] In 2021 the new genus Oreomecon was described by Enrico Augusto Banfi, Fabrizio Bartolucci, Jean-Marc Tison, and Gabriele Galasso including Oreomecon nudicaulis.^[5] According to Plants of the World Online (POWO) this is the accepted name of the species,^[2] though Papaver nudicaule continues to be used in some sources.^[1] In POWO it has three accepted subspecies:^[2]

• Oreomecon nudicaulis subsp. americana (Rändel ex D.F.Murray) Elvebakk & Bjerke – In Alaska and the Yukon^[6]
• Oreomecon nudicaulis subsp. microcarpa (DC.) Grey-Wilson – Kamchatka and Magadan^[7]
• Oreomecon nudicaulis subsp. nudicaulis – Siberia and the Russian Far East^[8]

Oreomecon nudicaulis has 44 synonyms of the species or one of its three subspecies.^[2][6][7][8]

Cultivars come in shades of yellow, orange, salmon, rose, pink, cream and white as well as bi-colored varieties. Seed strains include: 'Champagne Bubbles' (15-inch plants in orange, pink, scarlet, apricot, yellow, and creamy-white); 'Wonderland' (10-inch dwarf strain with flowers up to 4 inches wide); 'Flamenco' (pink shades, bordered white, 11⁄2 to 2 feet tall); 'Party Fun' (to 1 foot, said to bloom reliably the first year in autumn and the second spring); 'Illumination' and 'Meadow Pastels' (to 2 feet, perhaps the tallest strains); 'Matador' (scarlet flowers to 5 inches across on 16 inch plants); the perennial 'Victory Giants' with red petals and 'Oregon Rainbows', which has large selfed, bicolor, and picoteed^{[check spelling]} flowers and is perhaps the best strain for the cool Pacific Northwest^[11] (elsewhere this strain's buds frequently fail to open).

The dwarf Gartenzwerg group,^[12] and the cultivars 'Solar Fire Orange'^[13] and 'Summer Breeze Orange'^[14] have all won the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[15]

Color variations

White

Orange

Red

Pink

Yellow

White is the dominant color, the others being recessive.

The plants prefer light, well-drained soil and full sun. The plants are not hardy in hot weather, perishing within a season in hot summer climates.

Iceland poppies, like all poppies, possess exceedingly minute seeds and long taproots that resent disturbance.^{[citation needed]} In cool summer climates on well-drained soils, Iceland poppies can live 2–3 seasons, flowering from early spring to fall.^[16]

Iceland poppies are amongst the best poppies for cutting, as they last for several days in the vase.^[17]

The genetics of the garden forms of O. nudicaulis have been studied, particularly with respect to flower colour.^[18] The white flower colour is dominant with respect to yellow. Other colours, such as buff and orange, are recessive.

All parts of this plant are likely to be poisonous,^[19] containing (like all poppies) toxic alkaloids. In particular, O. nudicaulis has been shown to contain the benzophenanthidine alkaloid, chelidonine.^[20] It also contains (+)-amurine, (-)-amurensinine, (-)-O-methylthalisopavine, (-)-flavinantine and (-)-amurensine.^[21]