MECONOPSIS

genus of about 45 species of herbaceous plants of the poppy family (Papaveraceae) native to Eurasia, several of which are grown for their poppylike flowers. The only European representative is the Welsh poppy (M. cambrica), a 38-centimetre- (15-inch-) tall, somewhat hairy, yellow-flowering perennial; it has orange-flowered and double-flowered varieties. The blue poppy (M. betonicifolia), with blue-violet flowers, and the satin poppy (M. napaulensis), with nodding pale blue to purple flowers, are often cultivated.