BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Papaver pygmaeum
dwarf poppy
| Scientific Name: | Papaver pygmaeum Rydb. | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Papaver alpinum
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| English Name: | dwarf poppy | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | PAPAPYG | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G3 (Mar 2020) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2? (Apr 2022) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 3 - Sensitive (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Alpine/Tundra / Fellfield / Facultative - frequent use
Alpine/Tundra / Tundra / Facultative - frequent use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Facultative - frequent use Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Talus / Facultative - frequent use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Papaver pygmaeum occurs on alpine rocky slopes that are moist early in the season and later becoming dry, often on limestone but also on red argillite and red shale, on scree, talus, fellfield and slides at 2,057-2,630 m in elevation. | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
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| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | The range of Papaver pygmaeum is centered along the Continental Divide, extending 30 km north and 75 km south of the International Border (total: approx. 60 miles). The range includes the northwestern corner of Montana in the U.S., and adjacent areas of Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Welsh et al. (1993) include this species in the flora of Utah, treated as a dwarf variety of Papaver radicatum, but its occurrence in Utah is not recognized in the Flora of North America (FNA, 1997), nor is it recognized by Kartesz (unpublished distribution data from 1996). | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
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| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Douglas, G.W. 1996. Endemic Vascular Plants of British Columbia and Immediately Adjacent Regions. Can. Field-Nat. 110(3):387-391. |
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Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Penny. 2002. Rare Native Vascular Plants of British Columbia, 2nd ed. B.C. Conserv. Data Centre, Terrestrial Inf. Branch, Victoria. 358pp. |
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Douglas, G.W., D. Meidinger, and J. Pojar, eds. 1999. Illustrated Flora of British Columbia, Vol. 4, Dicotyledons (Orobanchaceae through Rubiaceae). B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, and B.C. Minist. For., Victoria. 427pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Papaver pygmaeum. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 7, 2026).