Plant Name
Scientific Name: Kallstroemia grandiflora
Common Names: Arizona Poppy, Arizona Caltrop, Mexican Poppy
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Upland. It grows in desert washes, along roadsides, and in sunny, open areas.
Flower Color: Golden orange, Golden yellow
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall (early). This wildflower blooms after the summer monsoon rains have begun.
Height: Sprawling to 3 feet (91 cm) long
Description: The flowers are up to 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) wide and have 5 petals with raised, orange veins and dark red-orange at the base of the petals. In favorable areas, the blooming plants can create large-scale wildflower displays. The flowers are followed by bristly, beaked fruits that split into 10 nutlets. The leaves are green, opposite, and pinnately compound with paired, oval leaflets. The stems are hairy and sprawling.
Despite its common name, Arizona Poppy is not actually a poppy because it's not in the Poppy Family (Papaveraceae).
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Sapindales
Family: Zygophyllaceae – Creosote-bush family
Genus: Kallstroemia Scop. – caltrop
Species: Kallstroemia grandiflora Torr. ex A. Gray – Arizona poppy
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