68 SUB-ALPINE PLANTS 



P. alpinum ; and P. pyrenaicum Willd. is only a fornvof P. alpinum, 

 though formerly some botanists considered it a distinct species. 



Papaver aurantiacum Loisel. (P. rhceticum Leresche). 



Flowers yellow or orange. Leaves pinnatifid; segments thick, 

 oval or broadly lanceolate, hairy. Flowering stem very hairy. 

 Sepals covered with dark brown hairs. Capsule obovate, hispid, 

 with erect, silky hairs. 



Moraines and debris, especially on limestone. July, August. 



Distribution. In Switzerland in the Engadine and Valais, rare ; 

 Tyrol (Salzburg) and Carinthia. 



The Alpine and Iceland Poppies are easily grown from seed, 

 and they adapt themselves to any part of the rockery in sandy 

 loam. The plants are best left undisturbed. 



MECONOPSIS Viguier. 



Ovary ovoid, with a short style and slightly dilated stigma of 

 4-6 rays. Capsule opening at the top in as many short valves, the 

 placentas inside lining the cavity, but not projecting to the centre. 



A small genus containing, besides the European species, a few 

 from Central Asia and North- West America. 



Meconopsis cambrica Vig. Welsh Poppy. 



Rootstock perennial, and forming large tufts, with thick tapering 

 roots. Stems erect, about a foot high. Leaves on long stalks, pale 

 green and slightly hairy, pinnate, the segments usually distinct, 

 ovate or lanceolate, toothed or lobed. Flowers large, pale yellow, 

 on long peduncles. Capsules narrow, ovate or oblong, glabrous. 



Rocky woods and shady places in hilly districts. June-August. 



Distribution. Western Europe from Spain to Ireland, including 

 the Pyrenees, Central Plateau of France, Wales, and Western 

 England. Probably not in Switzerland. 



CHELIDONIUM L. 



Leaves much divided. Flowers yellow. Ovary i -celled. Capsule 

 linear, valves thin. Only 2 species. They extend from Europe 

 to Japan. 



Chelidonium majus L. Greater Celandine. 



Though more strictly a plant of the plains, this well-known herb, 

 with yellow flowers and handsome leaves and yellow juice, is not 

 infrequently met with in the sub-alpine region, though even there 

 it is usually in the neighbourhood of houses as, e.g. close to the 

 villages of Evolene and Zinal in the Valais. The recently published 

 coloured prints of Chelidonium, after the beautiful work of Albrecht 

 Diirer 400 years ago, show the accuracy of form and colour that 

 great master possessed. 



