What Are California Poppies?
- The California poppy is a perennial in the state's U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zones 8a through 10b. Its statewide vigor may well account for its choice as the California state flower. Wild throughout the state, the poppy can be sown by seed as desired in gardens and meadows. The annual Poppy Festival in Lancaster, held in early to mid-April, welcomes spring and enables visitors to view the expanses of poppies at the heart of their growth range.
- California poppy seed can be found on seed racks in many regions of the U.S. Hardy from zones 3 to 9, poppies tolerate a wide range of soils and are known for drought tolerance. Seeds also can be found in wildflower mixtures designed for general or regional use.
- The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, notes that American Indians cooked young plants, but adds that blooms and other parts of the plant are toxic and consumption is not recommended. Some alternative health websites suggest using California poppy to make a sedative tea, and the more adventurous continue to speculate about thus-far-unestablished links between opium poppies and their California cousins. Attractive to pollinators, California poppies exist mainly to cheer and beautify the landscape. Those most disappointed by poppies are those tempted to pick them and take them home; stems and blossoms wilt rapidly.
- For a free-spirited California wildflower, the poppy bears an unusual name: Eschschotzia californica. In 1816, German botanist Adelbert von Chamisso joined the voyage of explorer Otto von Kotzebue, crossing the Pacific Ocean, visiting the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and traveling from California to Alaska on a Russian search for the mythical Northwest Passage. Serving as ship's surgeon, zoologist Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz gave his name to what must have been a charming and refreshing discovery after months of sea travel. Eschscholtz accompanied Kotzebue on a second voyage of exploration in the 1820s; collected specimens helped him found the zoology department of the University of Tartu, Estonia's oldest university.