CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Area flower lovers are invited to get a close-up look at one of the world’s rare true blue flowers, the Meconopsis (mee-koh-NOP-sis), known more widely as the Himalayan blue poppy, Saturday and Sunday (March 20-21) at the Plant Biology Conservatory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Admission will be $3 to see the flower known as the “elusive butterfly of the garden” and find out what makes this poppy so rare that it grows in only a few areas of the world, said Deborah Black, manager of the plant biology greenhouses. The “Himalayan Blue Poppy Show” will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Visitors also may tour the adjacent greenhouses to view other extensive plant collections from around the world. The conservatory is the tall greenhouse south of the main entrance on the east side of the building, located at 1201 S. Dorner Drive, Urbana.
