California poppy is native to 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 is scientifically called Eschscholzia californica. Spanish explorers called the beautiful flower copa de oro, "cup of gold" or sometimes dormidera, which means "the drowsy one" because the flowers close at dusk

 

California poppy is an orange annual flower that carpets California hillsides in early spring. Garden forms are hardy annuals that grow in a broad range of golden colors.

 

Their blossoms are single, with satin-soft petals of about 2-3 inches that are shaped like tiny cups and are long lasting. They always close at night, opening again in the morning with a blaze of colors. Their showy little blossoms vary from pale yellow to deep orange or bronze, and even rose colors. Depending on their variety, they can have double or semi-double blossoms, with petals of darker shades at their edges. Leaves are threadlike and lacy, growing in one-foot mounds that elongate as branching plants begin to flower. Each one- to three-inch poppy like flower has four or more silky petals, sometimes bicolor or rippled. The color run is buff, yellow, orange, peach, red, and pink. The seed capsules are long and pointed, and as they dry, they twist open with a pop that sends the round black seeds flying.

 

California poppy is extremely drought tolerant and an ideal plant for arid environments. The plant prefers full sun in light to sandy soils. It is uniform and neat in appearance.

 

California poppy is a favorite of gardeners for planting in rock gardens and for brightening up splashy borders. They are also fantastic flowers for planting in containers. California poppy is excellent for drifts of color in beds, borders, and meadow gardens. Flowers self-sow freely when planted where they are well suited. Native people used the green foliage as a vegetable and parts of the plant as a mild pain-killer. Spanish Californians boiled the leaves with olive oil and added perfume to make a hair dressing.

 

Did you know?

·        The California poppy had been first depicted more than 70 years earlier, and had a horticultural history of approximately 64 years.

·        California poppy is California's official state flower.

·        The botanical name-Eschscholzia californica is in honor of Dr. J. F. Eschscholtz, a physician and naturalist, who came to explore California with the Russians in 1816 and 1824.

·        An Indian legend suggests that the gold in California comes from the fallen petals of the California poppy.