The Meconopsis Group

Back

Meconopsis superba is one of the two species in Taylor's Series Superbae, the other being red-flowered M. regia (despite listings in some seed catalogues, the latter is not in cultivation at the present time).. Series Superbae, and Series Robustae (including amongst others, MM. paniculata, napaulensis and wallichii) are together classified as Subsection Eupolychaetia.

Subsection Eupolychaetia comprises the evergreen monocarpic perennials, which have striking rosettes of over-wintering leaves. In M. superba these are silvery in colour and silky in texture. The leaf margins are finely toothed and not deeply lobed. A stout flowering stem develops from within the rosette of leaves 3-5 years after germination. The pediculate flowers, borne singly along the upper part of the flowering stem, are cup-shaped and white in colour with 4 petals (maybe 5 or 6 in the first flowers to open) and another striking feature is the large purple-black stigma emerging through the dense boss of golden anthers.

M. superba was first introduced into cultivation in the 1920s, but by whom is not known. It was subsequently reintroduced in 1933, by Ludlow and Sherriff, who found it in western Bhutan where according to Chris Grey-Wilson it is endemic. It appears that it has not often been found in the wild. Toshio Yoshida took the photographs on this page in the Ha District of western Bhutan, neighbouring the Chumbi Valley of Tibet. He says that only local nomads, together with a few foreigners, such as Ludlow and Sherriff, will have seen it until 2007, when the area became open to foreigners again with a number of Japanese travellers seeing it since then., including Toshio in June 2009. It grows on rocky alpine slopes, often shrouded in heavy mist, between 4000 and 4400m in the vicinity of where old paths connected Bhutan and Kalimpong in Sikkim before the southern roads were constructed for vehicles.

Although securely in cultivation (undoubtedly derived from seed collected by Ludlow and Sherriff), with seeds often offered in specialist societies' seed lists, it is not as commonly grown as might be expected - presumably because it is trickier to succeed with than others - but well worth the effort.

Toshio Yoshida took the photographs (1-6) below in the Ha District of western Bhutan on 21st and 22nd June 2009. Note the non-flowering plants in the background (3). Pictures (4) and (5) give a good impression of the rocky habitat. Picture (6) shows old, previous year fruit capsules. Picture (7) of M. superba in cultivation, together with M. 'Lingholm' (behind) shows well the silvery appearance of the leaf rosettes.