Appearance
Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, one foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage 1-6 inches long. They were first described by botanists in 1759. The wild species blooms in white or yellow, and is hardy from USDA Zones 3a-10b.The Latin specific epithet "nudicaule" means “with bare stems”.
Defense
All parts of this plant are likely to be poisonous, containing toxic alkaloids. In particular, "P. nudicaule" has been shown to contain the benzophenanthidine alkaloid, chelidonine. It also contains -amurine, -amurensinine, -O-methylthalisopavine, -flavinantine and -amurensine.References:
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