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Papaver arenarium |
There is a rather flawed truism that the eastern hemisphere has far fewer red flowered plants than the hummingbird infested Western hemisphere--and I don't deny that there are a suprising number of red flowered plants in the Americas. However, the Eastern hemisphere boasts a few groups with some of the reddest flowers imaginable: tulips, peonies and especially poppies--which are often strangely similar in their floral impact.
Although we only really had ten days in the field, I was astonished at what a range and abundance of poppies we found all over Armenia. You may look at these and wonder what distinguishes one from the next: alas, few were in seed--but seedpods are a definitely important way to tell them apart. And in my case traveling with Tamar Galstyan--author of Flowers of Armenia and a leading field botanist of the this region was extremely helpful.
This was the first species we encountered between Gyumri and Haghpat in northern Armenia.
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Papaver arenarium |
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Papaver bipinnatum |
This beautiful species was commonest in the south--sligfhly more orange than the others.
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Papaver bipinnatum |
I photographed this above the Araxes river, within a quarter mile of Iran,
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Papaver commutatum |
This grew in many areas of central Armenia: especially large and bright red. Generally growing on wetter, richer soils.
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Papaver commutatum |
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Papaver commutatum |
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Papaver dubium |
Possibly one of the most ineradicable weeds in my home garden (the form I grow isn't this nice) I was charmed by Armenia's form of this variable poppy.
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Papaver dubium
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Papaver fugax |
We found this species only a few times, always on very rocky substrates. The flowers lose their petals quickly: hence the "fugax" (fleeting),
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Papaver macrostomum |
This was the poppy that was most abundant--usually in fallow fields. We saw countless acres stained reed with it.
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Papaver macrostomum |
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Papaver macrostomum |
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Papaver roseolum |
And for a bit of a change--the only pink annual species we found...
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Papaver roseolum |
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Roemeria hybrida |
Another dramatic departure: alas we only found a few plants of this in the great Norevank monastery.
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Roemeria refracta |
The crazy seedpods reveal why these, perhaps, have been segregated into a different genus!
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Roemeria refracta
At first I was sure this was a Papaver, until I saw the ungainly, linear pods. |
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Roemeria refracta
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And there were more annuals we didn't find... and we did see the foliage of many Oriental poppies--the perennial sorts with giant flowers--often in these same shades. Alas, we were several weeks early to find these in bloom...a very good reason to go back to Armenia in June!
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