Eschscholzia californica

The same patch of California poppies, with petals open on a sunny day (above) and closed on a chilly evening (below).
It is a perennial or annual plant growing to 5–60 in (13–152 cm) tall with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are alternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2 to 6 cm (0.79 to 2.36 in) long and broad; flower color ranges through yellow, orange and red (with some pinks). Flowering occurs from February to September in the northern hemisphere (spring, summer, fall). The petals close at night (or in cold, windy weather) and open again the following morning, although they may remain closed in cloudy weather. The fruit is a slender, dehiscent capsule 3 to 9 cm (1.2 to 3.5 in) long, which splits in two to release numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It survives mild winters in its native range, dying completely in colder climates.

 Botanical illustration California poppy seeds Scan of a California poppy
HabitatEdit
Its native habitat includes California and extends to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and northwest Baja California.
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in northern Los Angeles County. At the peak of the blooming season, orange flowers seem to cover all 1,745 acres (706 ha) of the reserve. Other prominent locations of California poppy meadows include Bear Valley (Colusa County) and Point Buchon (San Luis Obispo County).

 Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve Bear Valley
TaxonomyEdit
  E. californica subsp. mexicana, Mexican gold poppy, Maricopa County, ArizonaEschscholzia californica was the first named species of the genus Eschscholzia, named by the German botanist Adelbert von Chamisso after the Baltic German botanist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, his friend and colleague on Otto von Kotzebue’s scientific expedition to California and the greater Pacific circa 1810 aboard the Russian ship Rurik.  Maritime poppies, E. californica subsp. californica var. maritima (E. L. Greene) Jeps., Cambria, California
California poppy is highly variable, with over 90 synonyms. Some botanists accept two subspecies — one with four varieties (e.g., Leger and Rice, 2003) — though others do not recognize them as distinct (e.g., Jepson 1993):

E. californica subsp. californica, native to California, Baja California, and Oregon, widely planted as an ornamental, and an invasive elsewhere (see below).
E. californica subsp. californica var. californica, which is found along the coast from the San Francisco Peninsula north. They are perennial and somewhat prostrate, with yellow flowers.
E. californica subsp. californica var. maritima (E. L. Greene) Jeps., which is found along the coast from Monterey south to San Miguel Island.  They are perennial, long-lived, glaucous, short in stature, and have extremely prostrate growth and yellow flowers.
E. californica subsp. californica var. crocea (Benth.) Jeps., which grows in non-arid inland regions.  They are perennial, taller, and have orange flowers.
E. California subsp. californica var.  peninsularis (E. L. Greene) Munz, which is an annual or facultative annual growing in arid inland environments.
E. californica subsp. mexicana (E. L. Greene) C. Clark, the Mexican Gold Poppy, which is found in the Sonoran Desert. Some authorities refer to it as E. Mexicana.

3-6 hours of sun per day, with protection from intense mid-day sun

Water moderately, allowing the top 3cm to dry out between watering.

Eschscholzia Californica

Eschscholzia californica

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