A poppy with political affiliations

 

Welsh poppy Meconopsis cambrica is simultaneously a native and an alien wild flower in Britain. As a component of the Arctic-alpine flora, which probably colonised soon after the glaciers retreated, the wild plant was mostly confined to rocky, wooded slopes in Wales, where it seemed reluctant to spread beyond its native habitat. But over the past five decades it has advanced rapidly through much of lowland England, Scotland and Wales, with gardeners acting as intermediaries. It pops up all over my garden, filling in any vacant spaces.

This is an effortless plant to cultivate for anyone aspiring to the cottage garden style of planting, and excellent for wildlife gardens because hoverflies and bumblebees find it irresistible. It’s a perennial, prolific self-sower with tiny seeds that readily establish in paving crevices and even on walls. In recent years it has become a familiar sight in woodlands near most villages in Weardale, integrating into the local flora.

A couple of miles up the valley from here, in Wolsingham, it seems to be in every garden, no doubt finding its way into local woodlands in mud carried on walkers’ footwear and on the feet, fur and feathers of mammals and birds.

The spread of Meconopsis cambrica illustrates how difficult it is to predict whether a plant will become invasive; here is a species that’s slow to spread in ancestral natural locations but which, with no apparent changes in its botanical constitution, has readily established in a variety of habitats throughout Britain.

In 2006 Plaid Cymru chose a stylised version of Welsh poppy as its new logo. A serendipitous botanical choice, perhaps, for a political party with an eye to making its influence felt throughout the union?