Panarctic Flora

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370110 Papaver macounii Greene

Distribution

Western Alaska: Rare
Shrub Tundra: Rare
Bordering boreal or alpine areas: Rare

2n= 28 (4x). - Alaska (St. Paul Island). - Horn (1938).

Geography: American Beringian: ALA.

Notes: We consider Papaver macounii to be specifically distinct from its subsp. discolor (see P. keelei). This conclusion was indirectly suggested by Kiger and Murray (1997). Papaver macounii is then a narrowly distributed Beringian Sea species known from the Pribilof Islands and two small mainland areas in western Alaska, see Kiger and Murray (1997). Except for the narrowly obconical capsule with pyramidal disc, these plants could belong within the polymorphic P. mcconnellii, similar in, e.g., densely tussocky growth with very tough, pale brown marcescent sheaths, well dissected leaves more or less glaucous on both sides, and large flowers with numerous stamens (mostly > 50), all characters distinguishing it from P. keelei. No material has been available for molecular studies.

Higher Taxa