Family: Papaveraceae
Mongolian name: Nutsgen namuu
English name: Iceland Poppy
Collection Number: 8
Papaver nudicaule (Mong. Nutsgen namuu, Eng. Iceland poppy) is a perennial herb of the Papaveraceae family. The natural range is the northern sub-artic, and is a common flower throughout Mongolia in the summer months. Bayarsaikhan et al. 2025 report that the a boiled concoction is used to treat wounds of all sorts, as well as diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and dysentery in mixture with other poppies. Testing by Oh et al. 2019 demonstrated a statistically significant ant-inflammatory effect from ethanol extracts of the aerial parts of the Papaver nudicaule. Interestingly, different flower color cultivars showed different effects, with white flowers having the strongest reduction effect.
Citations
Bayarsaikhan, Enkhtuul, Turtushikh Damba, Buyanjargal Erdenebat, Norovnyam Ryenchinbyambaa, Otgonsuren Daramzav, Khuvitavilan Battulga, Munkhzul Boldbaatar, et al. 2025. Medicinal Application of the Iceland Poppy (Papaver Nudicaule L.) in Traditional Mongolian Medicine. Pharmacognosy Journal 17(1):71–76. https://doi.org/10.5530/pj.2025.17.9.
Oh, Jae-Hyeon, Miyong Yun, Dain Park, In Jin Ha, Chang-Kug Kim, Do-Wan Kim, Eun-Ok Kim, and Seok-Geun Lee. 2019. Papaver Nudicaule (Iceland Poppy) Alleviates Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation through Inactivating NF-κB and STAT3. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 19(1):90. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-019-2497-5.
“Papaver nudicaule.” 2024. Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Garden Kew. Accessed July 24. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77307944-1.
Sandiford, Jenny. 2021. “Summer Wild Flowers Mongolia.” Accessed July 9. https://www.jennysandiford.com/travelblog.
Reference Collection 