Genus Meconopsis, The: Blue poppies and their relatives

Description

There is no doubt that Meconopsis is one of the most distinctive and beautiful members of the poppy family, Papaveraceae. Distributed across the Sino-Himalaya region from Pakistan to India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Tibet and western China, many of the species have a great deal of horticultural as well as botanical appeal, and yet there is no single major work on this plant group. The first monograph of the genus Meconopsis was written in 1934 by George Taylor, later Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Christopher Grey-Wilson was a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for 22 years. He has edited Curtis's Botanical Magazine and The Plantsman in the past, and today The Alpine Gardener. He is the author of numerous books including Guide to the Flowers of Western China and The Rock Garden Plant Primer, and has been awarded five gold medals by the Royal Horticultural Society. In 2007 he was awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's highest accolade, a Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH).