Meconopsis autumnalis and M. manasluensis (Papaveraceae), two new species of Himalayan poppy endemic to central Nepal with sympatric congeners

Abstract

Two new species from Nepal, Meconopsis autumnalis and M. manasluensis, are described and illustrated with notes on diagnostic characters used to distinguish them from allied species. Sympatric speciation and the mechanisms to reproductively isolate the new species are discussed. In M. autumnalis, reproductive isolation from the widespread M. paniculata is the result of a shift in flowering phenology, whereas possible mechanisms preventing cross-fertilisation between M. manasluensis and the sympatric species M. pinnatifolia remain unclear.