Macleaya cordata (Willd.) R.Br.

Plume Poppy

Leaves undersurface white and densely hairy. Flower clusters to about 40 cm long. Stamens about 20-30; summer. Fruit a capsule with 4-6 seeds.

China, Japan

M. microcarpa (Maxim.) Fedde, the other species in the genus, is occasionally offered in nurseries; it differs primarily in having 8-12 stamens and a more or less round, not slightly elongated, 1-seeded capsule.

Suckers (the root system is highly invasive).

Yellow sap; leaves with many lobes; flowers small, whitish and in large clusters; capsule with 4-6 seeds.

Source: Spencer, R. (1997). Papaveraceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.

Distribution map
kingdom Plantae
phylum   Tracheophyta
class    Magnoliopsida
superorder     Ranunculanae
order      Ranunculales
family       Papaveraceae
genus        Macleaya R.Br.