Papaver cambricum

Papaver cambricum has pinnately divided leaves composed of pinnately divided leaflets. The flower is distinctively yellow or orange with four petals, and coarsely hairy green sepals that fall off soon after the flower opens. It spreads easily from the numerous small black seeds produced in the summer, from a long, ribbed capsule that opens with flaps. ==Taxonomy and phylogeny==

The species was originally named by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 '' as Papaver cambricum. In 1814, Louis Viguier separated it from Papaver, making it the type species of his new genus Meconopsis. One of the reasons was the presence of a style: other species in the genus Papaver have unstalked stigmas, arranged in a disc shape, whereas P. cambricum has stigmatic surfaces at the end of a distinct style. Later, many newly discovered species from the Himalayas and adjacent regions of China were added to the genus. As Meconopsis cambricum'', it was the only species in the genus native to Europe. However, a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2011 showed that P. cambricum is not related to Meconopsis species, but is instead nested within Papaver, suggesting that Linnaeus' original name should be restored. However, this would have left the genus Meconopsis without a type species and hence without a valid name, unless the name were to be conserved. ==Distribution and habitat==

Papaver cambricum is endemic to upland areas of Western Europe; it is found natively in the mountains of the Iberian Peninsula, the Pyrenees, the Massif Central and some western parts of the British Isles (Wales, south-western England and parts of Ireland). It has, however, been widely naturalised outside its native range. Papaver cambricum lives in damp, shady places on rocky ground. In its most western locations, it is increasingly found on more open ground with less cover. It is especially well adapted to colonising gaps and crevices in rocks and stones. This habit has enabled it to colonise the urban environment, growing between paving slabs and at the edges of walls. ==In culture==

On 24 February 2006, the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru adopted a stylised image of P. cambricum as its party logo. ==Alkaloids==

] Mecambrine [1093-07-8] is a spiroisoquinoline alkaloid, first isolated from Mecanopsis carnbrica (L.) Vig., is identical with Fugapavine found in Papaver fugax and Papaver caucasicum Marsch.-Bieb. ==References==