Meconopsis ser. Simplicifoliae G. Taylor, Account Gen.

Meconopsis ser. Simplicifoliae G. Taylor, Account Gen. Meconopsis : 49. 1934. Meconopsis sect. Simplicifoliae (G. Taylor) C. Y. Wu & H. Chuang, Acta Bot. Yunnan. 2(4): 375. 1980.— TYPE: M. simplicifolia (D. Don) Walp.

Monocarpic or polycarpic perennials with taproots or a fibrous root system or the combination; up to 1.5 m tall at anthesis. Leaves and stems hirsute with barbellate trichomes. Leaves senescing and deciduous during the winter; lamina frequently ellipic to narrowly oblanceolate, narrowly elliptic or narrowly lanceolate, longitudinally nerved and entire at the margin, sometimes oblanceolate to lanceolate- or elliptic-oblong with entire, serrate or lobed margins and pinnate venation; up to 30 cm long; uppermost cauline leaves sometimes aggregated in a false whorl and bearing flowers in their axils. Flowers normally fewer than 8, solitary on basal scapes, or in the axil of cauline leaves. Petals most commonly 4, or up to 10; blue, violet, yellow or red. Ovary usually ellipsoid to oblong, pubescent to hispid; styles commonly distinct, sometimes inconspicuous; stigma capitate or subclavate or star-shaped with 3–9 stigmatic rays variously decurrent relative to the style (in this condition, the style more or less resembling a star-shaped column). Capsules oblong to ellipsoid. Chromosome numbers from 2 n 5 74 to 164, most frequently 84.

Included Species — Meconopsis betonicifolia Franch. ; M. biloba L. Z. An, Shu Y. Chen & Y. S. Lian ; M. grandis Prain ; M. integrifolia (Maxim.) Franch. ; M. punicea Maxim. ; M. quintuplinervia Regel ; M. simplicifolia (D. Don) Walp. ; M. sherriffii G. Taylor.

The members of this section are easy to identify by their long and dense barbellate trichomes and the presence of a fibrous root system. Species in this section are more popular than those of other sections in Scottish gardens, not only for the brilliant colors of their large and showy flowers ( Fig. 2B View FIG ), but also for their easy cultivation and (frequent) polycarpic habit. This section also has the highest chromosome numbers among the genus with 2 n 5 74, 76, 82, 84, 118, 120, 164.

Typified Species —

CATHCARTIA CHELIDONIFOLIA (Bureau & Franch.) Grey-Wilson ,

Gen. Meconopsis View in CoL : 374. 2014.— LECTOTYPE (designated

here): CHINA. Sichuan: Ta-Tsien-Lou [Kangding], P. G.

E. Bonvalot & Prince Henri d’ Orléans s. n. (P, barcode

00739028; isolectotype: P, barcode 00739029 ).

CATHCARTIA OLIVERIANA (Franch. ex Prain) Grey-Wilson, Gen. View in CoL Meconopsis View in CoL : 376. 2014.— LECTOTYPE (designated here): CHINA. Hubei, Henry 6863 (K, barcode K000653215; isolectotypes: BM, K).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank the reviewers and the editors for suggestions that helped to significantly strengthen the manuscript. We also acknowledge the herbaria and curators of Royal Botanical Garden at Edinburgh, Harvard University, University of Texas, and Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Science for their hospitality and help. Dr. David Boufford (Harvard Herbaria), Dr. Alan Elliott (RBGE), and Dr. Paul Egan (Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin) have kindly shared experimental materials and photos, we greatly appreciate their support.