California poppy

Appearance

California Poppy is a perennial or annual plant growing to 5–12 in tall with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are alternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2 to 6 cm long and broad; flower color ranges through yellow, orange and red . Flowering occurs from February to September in the northern hemisphere . The petals close at night and open again the following morning, although they may remain closed in cloudy weather. The fruit is a slender, dehiscent capsule 3 to 9 cm long, which splits in two, sometimes explosively with an audible snap, to release numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It survives mild winters in its native range, dying completely in colder climates.

Distribution

In Chile, it was introduced from multiple sources between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. It appears to have been both intentionally imported as an ornamental garden plant and accidentally introduced along with alfalfa seed grown in California. Since Chile and California have similar climatic regions and have experienced much agricultural exchange, it is perhaps not surprising that it was introduced to Chile. Once there, its perennial forms spread primarily in human-disturbed environments .

The introduced Chilean populations of California poppy appear to be larger and more fecund in their introduced range than in their native range . Introduced populations have been noted to be larger and more reproductively successful than native ones , and there has been much speculation as to why. An increase in resource availability, decreased competition, and release from enemy pressure have all been proposed as explanations.

One hypothesis is that the plant's resources devoted in the native range to a defense strategy can, in the absence of enemies, be devoted to increased growth and reproduction . However, this is not the case with introduced populations of ''E. californica'' in Chile: the Chilean populations were actually more resistant to Californian caterpillars than native populations .

Habitat

Its native habitat includes California and extends to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and northwest Baja California.
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in northern Los Angeles County. At the peak of the blooming season, orange flowers seem to cover all 1,745 acres of the reserve. Other prominent locations of California poppy meadows include Bear Valley and Point Buchon .

Uses

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California poppy leaves are used as food or garnish, while the seeds are used in cooking. It has been used as a traditional medicine by indigenous people in California. There are no clinical trials showing it can effectively treat psychiatric disorders in humans.