| Neutral | balvenie | On Feb 22, 2005, balvenie from Marysville, WA (Zone 7a) wrote: "Arctomecon humile Colville. Small desert poppy
Plants form small rather dense tufts of grey green leaves.These are roughly spatular shaped,with a lobed,often 3-lobed,apex and narrowed gradually below into a slender petiole.The foliage is rather sparsley hairy and without the fuzzy appearance of the other two species.The small white flowers,2.5-5 cm(1-2 in )diameter are borne on branched astems just clear of the foliage,with the lower branches bracted.There is a rather small boss of yellow stamens in the centre of the flower,surrounding the greenish-yellow ovary.
One of the rarest poppies in the world that is restricted to a single site in Utah close to both the Nevada and Arizona state lines.Unffortunately,the only known site iswithin the boundaries of the rapidly developing site of St George and although the site is offered some protection,the species may ultimately succumb to town planners and the need for further industrialisation.Local conservationists might be well advised to try and establish another colony from seed in a safer locality.Signs along the roadside margin of the site proclaim the fact that it is the only place in the world where this little gem grows and plead for no damage or off-the-road vehicle activity.The site is roughly 1.6X3.2 km (1X2 miles)in extent and is generally barren gypsum-based soil dominated by Creosote Bush (Larrea)at an elevation of about 800m (2625ft).A.humilis makes a little multi-bloomed posies in the ground." from Christopher Grey-Wilson's "Poppies",pp227-228 |
