Flower Garden; California poppy

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2,000m (6,500 feet) altitude in the western United States throughout California, extending to Oregon, southern Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and in Mexico in Sonora and northwest Baja California.

It can grow 5–60 cm tall, with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are ternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2-6 cm long and broad; their color ranges from yellow to orange, and flowering is from February to September. The fruit is a slender dehiscent capsule 3-9 cm long, which splits in two to release the numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It is perennial in mild parts of its native range, and annual in colder climates; growth is best in full sun and sandy, well-drained, poor soil.

It grows well in disturbed areas and often recolonizes after fires. In addition to being planted for horticulture, revegetation, and highway beautification, it often colonizes along roadsides and other disturbed areas. It is drought-tolerant, self-seeding, and easy to grow in gardens.

The scientific name for the California Poppy is Eschscholzia californica (pronounced eh-SHOLTZ-ee-uh cal-ih-FOR-nih-cuh). Naturalist Adelbert von Chamisso gave this name in 1820 in honor of Dr. Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz. Both Chamisso and Eschscholtz were on an expedition by ship to the Pacific coast in 1817 sponsored by the Russian Count Nikolai Romanzoff. Eschscholtz was the ship's doctor. (Note that the poppy genus does not have a "t" in its name; whereas, Dr. Eschscholtz's name is spelled with the "t.") Chamisso and Eschscholtz made the original collection of the California Poppy near the Presidio in San Francisco. Chamisso also named another genus, Romanzoffia, in honor of Romanzoff. In San Mateo County we have the plant Romanzoffia californica, Mist Maidens.

On another voyage, in 1826, Eschscholtz discovered a lupine on California beaches and named it in honor of his friend Chamisso. The lupine is Lupinus chamissonis.

In 1903 the California Poppy was named our state flower. It is quite often an annual; however, if the associated heavy taproot develops fully, it can become a perennial. As its four yellow to orange (sometimes white) satiny petals are developing, two sepals wrap around and cover them like a tall cap. These sepals are shed as the petals expand. After the flower is pollinated, the petals are shed and a long seedpod develops. Our poppy does not like competition from other plants, especially grasses. A sunny, dry, gravelly open area is preferred.

The California Poppy blooms with large spring flowers and again in summer with smaller, lighter-colored flowers. In the evening or during cloudy weather the four fan-shaped petals fold up. Waking up late in the morning earned our poppy the Spanish name of "dormidera," (the drowsy one). Other Spanish names are "amapola" (poppy), and "copa de oro" (cup or wineglass of gold).