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Eschscholzia californica
Also called California sunlight, Californian Poppy, California Golden Poppy, California Goldenpoppy
A fast, drought-tolerant annual or short-lived perennial with bright orange, yellow or red cup-shaped flowers, best grown from seed sown in place in full sun. It reseeds readily and can become a groundcover.
Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, golden poppy, Mexican poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant flowering in summer (spring in southern Australia), with showy flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow (occasionally pink and white). It is also used as food or a garnish. It had various uses in indigenous herbalism. It became the official state flower of California in 1903.
E. californica is drought-tolerant, self-seeding, and easy to cultivate. It is best grown as an annual, in full sun, and well-draining sandy or loam soil. Horticulturalists have produced numerous cultivars with a range of colors and blossom and stem forms. These typically do not breed true on reseeding. Seeds are often sold as mixtures. The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-
'Apricot chiffon' (yellow flushed with pink and orange)
California poppy leaves are used as food or garnish, while the seeds are used in cooking. There are no clinical trials showing it can effectively treat psychiatric disorders in humans.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eschscholzia californica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
