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Papaver lapponicum [Kola Poppy]


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Rørslett, B. 2013. Papaver lapponicum (A.Tolm.)Nordh. ssp. scandinavicum G.Knaben (Papaveraceae). Kola Poppy. Flowers photographed in visible and ultraviolet light. http://www.ultraviol...cum-kola-poppy/

 

Papaver lapponicum (A.Tolm.)Nordh. ssp. scandinavicum G.Knaben

Syn. Papaver radicatum auct.; Papaver norvegicum N.Semenova

 

NO: Kolavalmue (P. lapponicum s.lat.); talvikvalmue (ssp. scandinavicum G.Knaben); kvænangsvalmue (ssp. kvaenangense (C.E.Lundström)Ö.Nilsson)

 

This is one of the modern enigmas of the mountain flora of Norway and its taxonomic and nomenclature status is hotly debated and not well understood. The Kola Poppy is, or believed to be, distributed in several races in Eurasia and Greenland, possibly even in the North Americas. What is clear, however, is that this plant belongs to a group in which speciation is ongoing not the least because the occurrences are widely scattered, each population is small, and there is hardly any genetic interchange taking place. As the subspecies ssp. scandinavicum was described by the late Dr. G.Knaben, my teacher in cytobotany at University of Oslo, I uphold here the nomenclature she applied to it. That makes the Norwegian occurrences endemic.

 

P. lapponicum ssp. scandinavicum is known from a single locality in Talvik, Finnmark, Arctic Norway [location data withheld]. Another race, ssp. kvaenangense (C.E.Lundström)Ö.Nilsson, have been documented from a few mountains slightly south of the Talvik site. Both races are protected by Law and are endangered taxa on the national Red List.

 

They typically occur on unstable habitats and can be found on talus slopes and gravel deposits along rivers. These plants are perennials and may persist in a rosette stage for years before they eventually go into blooming. Only a small fraction of the population will flower each season. On the Talvik site,

 

I visited the P. lapponicum site in mid July and found a few flowering specimens after a thorough search by 'remote sensing' methods (binoculars). Problem was the access to them as I had to cross a glacial run-off river in order to arrive at the site. However, so far nobody has been successful in doing UV photography of any plant through binoculars (which I used for spotting the plants). Thus, I had really no choice and thus it was yours truly against +4C water, swift currents, slippery gravels on the river bed, and the ever-so-bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

 

UV_shooter_crossing_glacial_river_1307_6077.jpg

Copyright: Bjørn-A.Jørgensen, ArcticPhoto

 

Here is P. lapponicum ssp. scandinavicum in visible light.

 

PAPA_LAP_B1307187156_VIS.jpg

Image reference: PAPA_LAP_B1307187156_VIS.jpg

 

PAPA_LAP_B1307187132_VIS.jpg

Image reference: PAPA_LAP_B1307187132_VIS.jpg

Visible light: Nikon D800, Voigtländer 125 mm f/2.5 AP-Lanthar, daylight.

 

Most individuals, however, were in the rosette stage and may never come into bloom.

 

PAPA_LAP_B1307187163_VIS.jpg

 

Dropping ambient light levels in conjunction with plants being buffeted by wind made UV captures a hit-or-miss affair, but after a while I got my record which probably is the first time ever in UV for this taxon.

 

PAPA_LAP_I1307180627_UV.jpg

Image reference: PAPA_LAP_I1307180627_UV.jpg

 

PAPA_LAP_I1307180625_UV.jpg

Image reference: PAPA_LAP_I1307180625_UV.jpg

Ultraviolet light: Panasonic GH-2, Coastal Optics 60 mm f/4 APO lens, Baader U2" (Venus) filter, SB-140 flash.

 

At first sight, the UV signature of P. lapponicum is very dark with little apparent detail. However, closer scrutiny discloses that the perianth shows the shimmering so typical for presence of conical cells. Besides, there is a brighter centre spot at the base of each petal and the perianth outside shows increased specular reflectivity.

 

 

References:

http://www.ultraviol...-r%C3%B8rslett/

 

[Published 21 Aug 2013]

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