Dioscorides' Plants, Then and Now
μήκων κερατῖτις

Yellow horned poppy

Glaucium flavum Crantz · Papaveraceae
Identification: CertainNot endemic to GreeceConservation status not assessed
Risk rank
26 of 32 (22–29)
Risk score
0.28(0.28–0.28)2 · Moderate

Then and now

2050 · moderate emissions. SSP2-4.5, 2041-2060, 3 climate models; ranges show the spread.

The plant
μήκων κερατῖτις
Photograph of Glaucium flavum
Photo: Salicyna · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (photo of Yellow horned poppy)
2050 · moderate emissions
Natural Earth (PD) · model output · ~10 km cells
Loading map layers (0 of 1)
Layers
Range keptLost by 2050Gained by 2050Cultivation zoneNatura 2000Occurrence cellCells ≈ 10 × 10 km

Occurrences are aggregated to ~10 km cells; exact points are never published. View range data as a table

De Materia Medica · Book IV · ch. 65c. 50–70 CE
μήκων κερατῖτις
mekon keratitis
μήκων κερατῖτις, ἣν ἔνιοι παράλιον καλοῦσιν, οἱ δὲ ἀγρίαν μήκωνα· φύλλα ἔχει λευκά, δασέα, ὅμοια φλόμῳ …
Modern identification
Glaucium flavumCrantz · PapaveraceaeCertain

Source: Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 601; Fraas 1845, p. 127; Osbaldeston 2000.

Full citation and quoted evidence

Sprengel 1830, vol. 2, p. 601 (Comm. IV cap. LXVI, μήκων κερατῖτις): 'Esse autem Glaucium luteum Scop., bene iam Tragus probavit.' Glaucium luteum Scop. is a synonym of G. flavum Crantz (synonymy is ours). No competitor named. Fraas 1845, p. 127: 'Glaucium flavum Cr., gelber Hornmohn' = ἡ μήκων (κερατῖτις) Theophr. 9,13 and μήκων κερατῖτις Diosc. 4,66 ('folia hirsuta' fits particularly). Osbaldeston 2000, ch. 4-66: SUGGESTED Papaver corniculatum [Fuchs, Brunfels], Chelidonium glaucium [Linnaeus], Glaucium flavum, Glaucium luteum. (https://archive.org/details/BIUSante_dioscsprengelx02/page/n602/mode/1up ; https://archive.org/details/synopsisplantaru00fraa/page/n172/mode/1up)

Opening words of the chapter (Wellmann numbering). Edition: Wellmann 1906, Pedanii Dioscuridis Anazarbei De materia medica vol. II (libri III-IV), Berlin: Weidmann; read from page scan on archive.org (BIUSante_65865x02), p. 222. See the page scan.

No European Medicines Agency herbal monograph for this species.

Projected range change by 2050

2050 · moderate (SSP2-4.5)+9% (+3 to +10%)
2050 · high (SSP5-8.5)+16% (+2 to +18%)

Median and spread across 3 climate models. Whisker axis −80% to +20%, dashed tick at 0; a chevron means the value runs beyond the axis.

Suitable cultivation area, 2050 moderate0 km² (0–0 km²)

Risk score breakdown

0.28 (0.28–0.28)Moderate risk class 2
00.51.0
  • Range loss 0.00 of max 0.40 · (0.00–0.00)
  • Endemism 0.00 of max 0.20 · not endemic
  • Conservation status 0.10 of max 0.20 · not assessed
  • Harvest pressure 0.18 of max 0.20

Stays in the top 10 in 0% of 1,000 random weightings.

How the score is built, and how sensitive it is to weights

Model quality

Standard grade
AUC (spatial block CV)
0.87 ± 0.02
Distance-only baseline AUC
0.77 ours is higher
Boyce index
0.98 ± 0.02
TSS
0.61 ± 0.04
Occurrence records
1,306 after cleaning (of 3,105)

5-fold spatial block cross-validation (~25 km blocks); ± is one standard deviation across folds. Null model AUC 0.51. The baseline scores each held-out point by its distance to the nearest training record, on the same folds. "Standard" grade means ≥ 30 records, AUC ≥ 0.75 and above the baseline; fewer than 10 records is a data gap; anything else is low grade.

Suggested action

Monitor

Stable or expanding; keep watching harvest and status.

Rule: Gains or keeps habitat · no 2050 cultivation zone.

See the action plan

Identification through time

Who has matched μήκων κερατῖτις to which modern plant, from the Renaissance to today.

All names through time
Cited for the identification we modelProposed an alternativeAlternative preferred by our sourceAlternative rejected by our sourceCommonly proposed, not verified by us
Renaissance commentators
Linnaean botany & Flora Graeca
Edition
Modern
150016001700180019002000

Select a mark to read who proposed which plant, and the source we read it in.

Dates are each authority's main herbal or commentary (approximate, "c."), used to order the timeline. Claims are parsed from our curated identification table; every quote links back to a page scan or edition on the plant page.

Range data (map alternative)

ScenarioSuitable ~10 km cellsChangeShare in Natura 2000
Now795—23.4%
2050 moderate796 (782–816)+9% (+3 to +10%)24% (24–24%)
2050 high826 (772–833)+16% (+2 to +18%)23% (23–24%)