Plant Name

Scientific Name: Eschscholzia californica ssp. mexicana

Synonym: Eschscholzia mexicana

Common Names: California Poppy, Mexican Gold Poppy

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual, Perennial

Growth Habit: Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert

Flower Color: Golden Yellow, Orange, White (rare)

Flowering Season: Spring

Height: Up to 16 inches (41 cm) tall

Description: The up to 1.5 inch (3.8 cm) wide, cup-shaped flowers have 4 petals that are generally deeper orange-colored at the base. The flowers are only open during the daytime and on sunny days. The seed capsules are slender and up to 4 inches (10 cm) long. The leaves are bluish green and finely dissected.

The seeds are commercially available, but most wildflower seed mixes contain the larger, more orange-flowered main species E. californica. These plants cannot be transplanted, so sow them where they are to grow.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Magnoliidae
Order: Papaverales
Family: Papaveraceae – Poppy family
Genus: Eschscholzia Cham. – California poppy
Species: Eschscholzia californica Cham. – California poppy
Subspecies: Eschscholzia californica Cham. ssp. mexicana (Greene) C. Clark – California poppy

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map
California Poppies at Picacho Peak State Park