California poppy

a plant, Eschscholtzia californica, of the poppy family, having feathery bluish foliage and showy, orange-yellow flowers: the state flower of California.

[1890-95, Amer.]

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Annual garden plant (Eschscholzia californica) in the poppy family, native to the western coast of North America and naturalized in parts of southern Europe, Asia, and Australia.

The flowers are usually pale yellow, orange, or cream in the wild, but whites and shades of red and pink have been developed in cultivation. The foliage is gray-green and feathery. The flowers open only in sunlight. They blossom all summer in northern climates and into the winter in areas with mild winters.

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).

Grant Heilman Photography

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▪ plant

      (Eschscholzia californica), annual garden plant of the poppy family (Papaveraceae) native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It has become naturalized in parts of southern Europe, Asia, and Australia. The flowers, borne on stems 20 to 30 centimetres (8 to 12 inches) long, are usually pale yellow, orange, or cream in the wild, but in cultivation whites and various shades of red and pink have been developed. The foliage is gray-green and feathery. The four-petaled, five- to seven-centimetre flowers open only in sunlight and are ephemeral. Depending on conditions, California poppies flower from February to September. Horticultural varieties include tall, dwarf, double, single, and various colours.

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