The National Flower of Bhutan – Blue Poppy

BLUE POPPY: With the monsoon in the air it’s time for blue poppy to flourish, the monsoon bring along with it rain, heat, dampness and moisture a pre requisite for the delicate blue poppy to thrive.
The national flower, blue poppy, is one of the most exquisite and rare flowers in the country and found at elevations of around 3,000m to 4,000m above sea level.
Blue poppy, with its scientific name Meconopsis spp, has 13 species and falls under the family of papaveraceae. Blue poppy also comes in pink, white and red colors and are found in the country.

The white-coloured blue poppy is endemic and found in Haa, a quaint town in south western Bhutan. About eight species are found in blue, while one species is red in color, and a few are white and purple.
Blue poppy starts flowering from June to August and they need lots of moisture to grow. They grow on sandy and moist soil
Blue poppy grows across the Himalaya and they survive in extreme conditions, such as freezing temperatures. And it’s amazing how this rare flower can grow in extreme conditions, and yet it is frail in nature. Blue poppy is said to flower once, after which it seeds and withers. It takes about two to three years for the seeds to grow into a plant.

It was in the early ‘90s that the blue poppy was declared as the national flower of Bhutan.
Blue Poppy is the national flower because it’s said that blue blood runs through it and it’s a rare flower. About 5,603 plant species have been identified in the country, including about 576 wild orchids and 46 rhododendron and over 300 medicinal plants.