The Land of the Blue Poppy

In 1911, Francis Kingdon Ward (1885-1958) set off on his first solo expedition and collected hundreds of plant species, many previously unknown. From Burma, he headed into the Hendduan Mountains of northwestern Yunnan province, exploring along the Mekong, Yangtze and Salween rivers in the region between eastern Tibet and western Sicuan. In 2003, this area was designed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the world’s most biodiverse termperature zones, its extraordinary topography arsises from its position at the collision point of techonic plates. This fascinating book, first published in 1913, was one of the most popular by a prolific author. the blue poppy of the title is Meconopsis speciosa, which Kingdom Ward described as the “Cambridge blue poppy; rather than the famous “Tibetan blue poppy” (Meconopsis betonicifolia) which he introduced to England in 1926. It is generously illustrated with Kingdon Ward’s own photographs and maps from the trip.