California Poppy © Gerald & Buff Corsi/Focus on Nature, Inc.

Simple-shaped Flowers

Description A smooth, bluish-green plant with several stems, fern-like leaves, and usually orange flowers borne singly on a long stalk.
Flowers: 1-2" (2.5-5 cm) wide; petals 4, fan-shaped, deep orange or yellow-orange, sometimes yellow at tips and orange at base, rarely cream; sepals joined into a cone (calyptra) which is pushed off as flower opens; stamens many; beneath ovary a flat, conspicuous, pinkish rim.
Leaves: 3/4-2 1/2" (2-6.3 cm) long, divided into narrow segments, on long stalks.
Fruit: capsule 1 1/4-4" (3.1-10 cm) long, slender, slightly curved.
Height: 8-24" (20-60 cm).

Warning Can be poisonous if ingested. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.

Flower February-September.

Habitat Open areas, common on grassy slopes.

Range Southern California to southern Washington; often cultivated.

Discussion On sunny days in spring, California Poppies, the state flower, often turn hillsides orange. Responsive to sunlight, the flowers close at night and on cloudy days. The spicy fragrance attracts mainly beetles, which serve as pollinators. Flowers produced early in the season tend to be larger than those later on. There are other species in California, but none has the conspicuous pink rim at the base of the ovary.