Eschscholzia
Encyclopedia
Eschscholzia is a genus
of 12 annual
or perennial
plants
in the Papaveraceae
(poppy
) family. The genus was named after the Baltic German botanist
Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz
(1793-1831).
are deeply cut, glabrous and glaucous, mostly basal, though a few grow on the stem.
Flower
s have four yellow or orange petals, and grow at the end of the stem, either alone or in many-flowered cymes. The petal
s are wedge-shaped, forming a funnel. The two fused sepal
s fall off as the flower bud opens. There are 12 to numerous stamen
s. The flowers close in cloudy weather.
Seed
s are tiny and black, held in long pointed pods that split
open when ripe.
The taproot
gives off a colorless or orange clear juice
, which is mildly toxic.
(Eschscholzia californica), the state flower of California. Eschscholzia caespitosa is very similar to E. californica, but smaller and without a collar below the petals.
Another common in cultivation is Eschscholzia lobbii, which is often sold as Eschscholzia caespitosa. E. lobbii has yellow flowers and very narrow leaves.
They prosper in warm, dry climates, but withstand some frost. They grow in poor soil
s with good water drainage.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of 12 annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
or perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
plants
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the Papaveraceae
Papaveraceae
Papaveraceae, informally known as the poppy family, are an economically important family of 44 genera and approximately 770 species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, but almost unknown in the tropics...
(poppy
Poppy
A poppy is one of a group of a flowering plants in the poppy family, many of which are grown in gardens for their colorful flowers. Poppies are sometimes used for symbolic reasons, such as in remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime....
) family. The genus was named after the Baltic German botanist
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz
Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz
Johann Friedrich Eschscholtz was a Livonian physician, botanist, zoologist and entomologist.Eschscholtz was born in Dorpat , Governorate of Livonia in the Russian Empire...
(1793-1831).
Description
LeavesLeaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are deeply cut, glabrous and glaucous, mostly basal, though a few grow on the stem.
Flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s have four yellow or orange petals, and grow at the end of the stem, either alone or in many-flowered cymes. The petal
Petal
Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They often are brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. Together, all of the petals of a flower are called a corolla. Petals are usually accompanied by another set of special leaves called sepals lying...
s are wedge-shaped, forming a funnel. The two fused sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s fall off as the flower bud opens. There are 12 to numerous stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The flowers close in cloudy weather.
Seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are tiny and black, held in long pointed pods that split
Dehiscence (botany)
Dehiscence is the opening, at maturity, in a pre-defined way, of a plant structure, such as a fruit, anther, or sporangium, to release its contents. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that open in this way are said to be dehiscent...
open when ripe.
The taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
gives off a colorless or orange clear juice
Latex
Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...
, which is mildly toxic.
Cultivation
The best-known is the California PoppyCalifornia poppy
The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...
(Eschscholzia californica), the state flower of California. Eschscholzia caespitosa is very similar to E. californica, but smaller and without a collar below the petals.
Another common in cultivation is Eschscholzia lobbii, which is often sold as Eschscholzia caespitosa. E. lobbii has yellow flowers and very narrow leaves.
They prosper in warm, dry climates, but withstand some frost. They grow in poor soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s with good water drainage.
Species
- Eschscholzia caespitosaEschscholzia caespitosaEschscholzia caespitosa is a species of poppy known by the common names tufted poppy and collarless California poppy.It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California where it is a member of the chaparral plant community. This is an annual herb which is quite similar in...
—Tufted Poppy, Foothill Poppy, Collarless California Poppy - Eschscholzia californica—California Poppy
- Eschscholzia elegansEschscholzia elegansEschscholzia elegans is a relative of the California poppy that occurs on Guadalupe and Cedros islands, off the coast of the Baja California peninsula....
- Eschscholzia glyptospermaEschscholzia glyptospermaEschscholzia glyptosperma is a species of poppy known by the common names desert poppy, desert goldenpoppy, and Mojave poppy....
- Eschscholzia hypecoidesEschscholzia hypecoidesEschscholzia hypecoides is a species of poppy known by the common name San Benito poppy.It is endemic to California where it is mainly limited to the coastal ranges in and around San Benito County. It is a plant of woodlands, grassland slopes, and chaparral. This is an annual herb with leaves made...
- Eschscholzia lemmoniiEschscholzia lemmoniiEschscholzia lemmonii is a species of poppy known by the common name Lemmon's poppy.It is endemic to California, where its distribution includes the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills, and Transverse Ranges. One subspecies, the Tejon poppy, ssp. kernensis, is limited to the mountains of Kern...
- Eschscholzia lobbiiEschscholzia lobbiiEschscholzia lobbii is a species of poppy known by the common name frying pans. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the Central Valley and adjacent Sierra Nevada foothills. The frying pans is a small annual herb growing from a patch of segmented leaves with pointed leaflets. It produces...
—Frying pans - Eschscholzia minutifloraEschscholzia minutifloraEschscholzia minutiflora is a species of poppy known by the common name pygmy poppy.It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This wildflower is an annual herb growing from a patch of segmented leaves with divided, rounded leaflets. The thin, erect or...
- Eschscholzia palmeriEschscholzia palmeriEschscholzia palmeri is a species of poppy native from Guadalupe Island in Mexico. It is a low growing woody perennial with a narrow taproot and yellow flowers.-External links:**...
- Eschscholzia parishiiEschscholzia parishiiEschscholzia parishii is a relative of the California poppy that occurs in the deserts surrounding the Salton Sea of California, and south along the Gulf of California to the vicinity of Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California.-External links:****...
- Eschscholzia ramosaEschscholzia ramosaEschscholzia ramosa is a species of poppy known by the common name Channel Islands poppy, or simply island poppy.It is known only from the Channel Islands of California and Guadalupe Island of Baja California . It is usually found in chaparral...
- Eschscholzia rhombipetalaEschscholzia rhombipetalaEschscholzia rhombipetala, the diamond-petaled California poppy, is a relative of the California poppy with diminutive flowers. Once thought extinct, it was rediscovered in the 1990s in the northern Carrizo Plain of the interior south Coast Ranges of California, and in a location at Lawrence...