FLORA OF ICELAND elements: Papaver croceum (= P. nudicaule), Iceland Poppy, Garðasól

Papaver croceum (= P. nudicaule); Iceland poppies are - contradictory to their name - not at all Icelandic wild plants. They are introduced and generally grow in private gardens and waste places. However, they do escape into the wild. The colour of the flowers vary: they can be white, yellow or orange. The easiest way to tell this introduced species from the natural arctic poppy is by looking at the leaves: they are hairy in the Arctic poppy but not so in the Iceland poppy. Another difference is the number of stigma's on the pistil: 6-9 in this species (see flower blow-up Foto), only 4-5 in the Artic Poppy (see page on Papaver radicatum). Also the flowers of the Iceland poppy are larger than the arctic poppy. Naturally the Iceland poppy occurs in the sub-polar regions of the European and American continents.
It is a member of the Poppy family (Papaveraceae). The Icelandic name of this species is Garðasól.