Meconopsis tibetica - Photos In The Wild

Sha-U La SE Tibet Margaret Thorne.	Habitat Sha-U La SE Tibet Margaret Thorne.
Habitat Sha-U La, SE Tibet Martin Walsh.	Sha-U La. Although not well shown in this image there is a flat disc immediately above the ovary (seed pod) through which the style and stigma projects. This places the species in Discogyne - see M. discigera Martin Walsh.
Sha-U La. Wonderful image of a superb plant. Harry Jans.	Sha-U La. Highly desirable plant but like the rest of this group of the Discogyne will probably prove difficult to cultivate. Harry Jans.
A good close-up of the defining criteria of a disc between the style and stigma and the spiny ovary. Compare to the very similar and closely related M. torquata. Plant at 4,600m. on the Sam Chung La, S.E Tibet. Margaret Thorne mid August 2009.	Habitat shot with some plants approaching 1 metre in height. Margaret Thorne - the photographer- took a series of detailed measurements of flowering and non flowering rosettes as well as details of numbers of seed pods. This sort of data is invaluable since herbarium specimens are always scarce and collecting them should only be done by serious botanists with permission but archives of photographs and measurements will be become an increasingly important taxonomic tool. This data can be stored by the Meconopsis group in Edinburgh.
These plants were photographed near the Sam Chung La in the Everest National Park in SE Tibet. They occured from 4,600m. down to 4150 in the valley of the lakes below Tsonama. Margaret Thorne.	Clearly showing the long style. Jeanie Jones 2010.
Seedling 2010. These probably take more than 2 years to flower since this rosette will not be a current year's germination. This species seems likely to be possible in cultivation if seed can be obtained and at up to a metre high would be a spectacular plant.  Jeanie Jones.	Interesting to see so many old seed stems have survived the previous winte; it is possible that the disc found in the sub genus Discogyne protects the seed in the capsules over winter which may be shed the following spring.  Jeanie Jones 2010.

Meconopsis tibetica

Taxonomy

S Tibet. First found in 1920s but not properly described until 2005 (One of five species in section Discogyne characterised by having a disk above the ovary from which the style and stigma protrude – other 4 species are M. tibetica, M. torquata, M simikotensis and M. pinnatifolia). A very beautiful species of a deep red flowers on a scape. Monocarpic.

Cultivation

Only M. discigera of the Discogyne has been regularly grown and that is not easy. M. torquata was flowered once many years ago in Scotland and that proved very difficult. Likely to be difficult. The flowering of this specie from the single plant that germinated by Geoff Hill is somewhat of a triumph. The seed was originally collected by Dr. Vogel in S.E Tibet on 2007. It was later submitted to the Meconopsis Group seed exchange as a form of M. grandis. There is no question that this plant would be a very desirable addition to cool northerly gardens around the world.

Map Location

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Meconopsis taylori - Photos In The Garden

Meconopsis taylori - Photos In The Wild

Meconopsis taylori

Taxonomy

This was collected once on Annapurna by the Stainton, Sykes and Williams expedition and described by Williams in 1972. It has the largest fruiting capsules in the genus at 6 cms, pink flowers, unusually a brown stigma and barbellate hairs. The pollen morphology was studied at the RBGE with the electron microscope and compared with the closely related M. superba and M. regia. The current status of this is discussed in C. Grey-Wilson , Curtis Botanical Magazine (2002) 23,176.

Description of the species by L.H.J. Williams in Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 41, 347-349. 1972.

Cultivation

presumably rapidly hybridized and soon was not in cultivation.

Map Location

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Meconopsis superba - Photos In The Garden

Silver rosette with a smooth outline to the leaves.
Superb winter rosette, probably 2 or 3 years old in the Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. Paul Egan.

Meconopsis superba - Photos In The Wild

Photographed in Bhutan by Margaret Thorne on open scree at Ha in Bhutan at about 4,100 metres.	Plant just below scree level in Bhutan. As in gardens a large robust plant with large crystalline white flowers and an almost black purple stigma and also as in gardens a more modest number of flowering pedicels per plant than some of the related species like M. paniculata.  Margaret Thorne.
Another image by Margaret Thorne near to the previous images. The strategy of these monocarpic evergreen plants in this hostile high altitude habitat is typical of this species growing for years as a flat rosette which would not be troubled by high winds or deep snow cover and only flowers after a very rapid expension of the flowering stem in a single early spring and then the dried dead stem with seeds may even be helped by winter winds to disperse the large seed in robust seed pods.