Arctomecon californica

Arctomecon californica is a species of poppy known by several common names, including California bearpoppy, Las Vegas bearpoppy, golden bearpoppy, and yellow-flowered desert poppy. It is a perennial herb that is native to the eastern Mojave Desert.

California bearpoppy
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Papaveraceae
Genus: Arctomecon
Species:
A. californica
Binomial name
Arctomecon californica

Description

Arctomecon californica is a herbaceous perennial found in Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) habitats, in barren shales with gypsum substrates, at 500–1,000 metres (1,600–3,300 ft) in elevation.[1]

The plant flowers in mid spring with deep yellow petals from large buds on tall 1–3 feet branching inflorescences. Fruiting occurs in early summer.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Arctomecon californica is native to the eastern Mojave Desert: in areas around Las Vegas, Nevada such as Tule Springs; the Lake Mead area; in and around Las Vegas; and in extreme Mohave County in Northwestern Arizona. It is also known in Utah from a single collection in Washington County, characterized as having "apparently occurred in cultivation on private property".[3]

Conservation

The species has declined dramatically in recent decades and has now been petitioned for listing on the US Endangered Species list.[4] It is a protected species in Nevada and Arizona due to its rarity. It is declining in its primary habitat in Nevada. Populations have undergone a serious decline associated with land development and grazing and the growth in the European and Africanized honeybee population associated with the latter. Habitat fragmentation is a possible contributing factor to reduced levels of genetic variation in populations in the Las Vegas Valley.[5]

Ecology

Arctomecon californica is pollinated by a specialist bee, the Mojave poppy bee. Pollination occurs by female Mojave poppy bees who collect pollen from the plants to feed their young.[6] The Mojave poppy bee is imperiled due to habitat loss.[7]

References
  1. "Arctomecon californica in Flora of North America @". Efloras.org. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  2. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". Wildflower.org. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  3. Welsh, Stanley; Atwood, N.; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry (1987). A Utah Flora. Monte L Bean Life Science Museum.
  4. "Endangered Species | Species | U.S. Species". Fws.gov. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  5. Hickerson, Laura L.; Wolf, Paul G. (1998). "Population Genetic Structure of Arctomecon californica Torrey and Fremont (Papaveraceae) in Fragmented and Unfragmented Habitat". Plant Species Biology. 13 (1): 21–33. doi:10.1111/j.1442-1984.1998.tb00245.x.
  6. "Nevada's Highly Imperiled Mojave Poppy Bee Takes Step Toward Endangered Species Act Protection". Center for Biological Diversity. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  7. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". Explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
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