California Poppy

The California poppy is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2,000 meters (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 centimeters tall, with alternately branching waxy pale blue-green foliage. The leaves are divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2-6 centimeters long and broad; their color ranges from yellow (particularly in southern california) to orange, and flowering is from February to September. 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 capsule 3-9 centimeters 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 harsher colder and hotter climates.

States where California Poppy is native:

• California
• Oregon
• Washington
• Nevada
• Arizona