California Poppy Flower | California State Flower

California Poppy Flower

Plant Type: Perennial herb.
Common Names: California Poppy, Golden Poppy, Calfornia Sunlight, Cup of Gold.
Colors: bright yellow, cultivars include red, orange, and pink.
Flower Dimensions: The petals are 0.79 to 2.36 inches in length.
Flowering Seasons/Months: Spring, summer, fall (February to September).
Deserts with California Poppy: Sonoran, Mojave; Antelope Valley.

California Poppy Plants

California Poppy Characteristics

California poppy is a perennial or annual herb under Ranunculales. It can grow to a height of 5 to 60 inches.
The stems of the California poppy plant are erect, each with a single showy flower.
The leaves are divided into pointed segments. The leaves are fern-like and blue-green.
The flowers of the California poppy are solitary and silky textured. Each flower has 4 petals that bloom from February to September in the Northern Hemisphere.
The fruit of the California poppy is a slender capsule with dark-brown or black seeds.
California poppy is fast-growing, self-seeding, and drought-tolerant.
Horticultural varieties of these flowering plants include single, double, dwarf, and tall. The California Poppy is an annual plant in the Papaveraceae family^[1] with grayish-green pinnate foliage.

Cup Of Gold Flowers

The California Poppy (Eschscholtzia californica) became California’s official state flower on March 2, 1903. The bright orange plant’s flowers are an incomparable symbol of the Golden State, perhaps as the “fields of gold” floral representation.
According to research^[1], Eschscholtzia californica and Valeriana officinales are used for sleep disorders and anxiety management. Furthermore, it is stated that the tested combination of the extracts of 2 species is vital for managing insomnia.
The botanical name Eschscholzia is named after Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz^[2], a German surgeon and naturalist who saw the embellished California Poppy in the hills of the San Francisco Bay while on a Russian expedition.
Eschscholzia californica is named the “copa de oro“or the “cup of gold” by the early Spanish settlers of California.
The scientists have isolated two new isoflavones and quercitrin from the whole plants of Eschcholtzia californica^[3].
The researchers stated that the California poppy^[4] has increasing use in pharmaceutical industries. Upon conducting their study, they could also detect and characterize 14 isoquinoline alkaloids of different types.
The California poppy is native to southwestern, northern Mexico, and the United States. It has now become naturalized in parts of Australia, Asia, and southern Europe.

California Poppy Flower Plants

Suggested Reading: Different Types of Flowers | Flower Month August | Yellow Spring Flowers

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BioExplorer.net. (2025, February 07). California Poppy. Bio Explorer. https://www.bioexplorer.net/plants/flowers/california-poppy/.

BioExplorer.net. "California Poppy" Bio Explorer, 07 February 2025, https://www.bioexplorer.net/plants/flowers/california-poppy/.

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Key References

^[1] – “Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – The University of Texas at Austin”. Accessed October 28, 2021. Link.
^[1] – “An approach to the study of the biological activity of Eschscholtzia californica Cham – ScienceDirect”. Accessed September 10, 2022. Link.
^[2] – “California Poppy: True Gold is in the Heart”. Accessed September 10, 2022. Link.
^[3] – “Flavonoids from Eschscholtzia californica – ScienceDirect”. Accessed September 10, 2022. Link.
^[4] – “Direct characterization of isoquinoline alkaloids in a crude plant extract by ion-pair liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry: example of Eschscholtzia californica – ScienceDirect”. Accessed September 10, 2022. Link.