Arctomecon

The Arctomecon poppy is a genus of the Papaveraceae family that is often called the poppy, or bear paw poppy, it is also known as the Las Vegas bear poppy. This species of the poppy family grows up to 2 feet in height and commonly grows in the hills of Las Vegas Nevada.

The petals of this flower are either white or yellow with 4 to 6 petals I can reach 3 inches across, the leaves are wedge-shaped divided into several teeth and are completely covered with long hairs. These are covered leaves will usually be a light blue or gray appearance and grow in Rosette. The stems of the plant can reach 2 feet in height while the leaves grow toward the bottom of the stem.

The soil that this poppy can be found in his usually the type of soil other plants have a difficult time surviving as it will be the driest soils of the Mojave Desert and will contain a gypsum content.

The Arctomecon is botanically known as Arctomecon merriamii and is a native poppy of California and Nevada, is also commonly called Desert poppy with a white bear poppy. Among the species of Arctomecon there are several that are rare and even border on extinction such as Arctomecon humilis, which is in critical danger of extinction and is known to grow in Utah. In areas where this poppy grows as a native plant plans have been put in place to repopulate this species.