Flora of North America species comparison

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Eschscholzia ramosa

Eschscholzia californica

Channel Island poppy, Channel Islands poppy, island-poppy

California golden poppy, California-poppy, golden poppy
Habit Plants annual, caulescent, erect, 5-30 cm, glabrous, sometimes glaucous. Plants, perennial or annual, caulescent, erect or spreading, 5-60 cm, glabrous, sometimes glaucous; taproot heavy in perennial forms.
Leaves

basal and cauline;

blade glabrous; ultimate lobes elongate, obtuse.

basal and cauline;

blade with ultimate lobes obtuse or acute.
Inflorescences

cymose or 1-flowered;

buds erect, blunt or rounded short-acuminate, tip less than 1/4 length of bud.

cymose or 1-flowered;

buds erect.
Flowers

receptacle obconic, less than 2.5 cm broad, cup without spreading free rim;

calyx acuminate, glabrous;

petals yellow, sometimes with orange spot at base, 5-20 mm.

receptacle obconic, cup with spreading free rim;

calyx acute to acuminate, glabrous, sometimes glaucous;

petals yellow to orange, usually with orange spot at base, 20-60 mm.
Capsules

4-7 cm.

3-9 cm.
Seeds

brown, ellipsoid, 1.4-1.6 mm, reticulate.

brown to black, spheric to ellipsoid, 1.5-1.8 mm, reticulate.
2n

= 24.

Eschscholzia ramosa

Eschscholzia californica
Phenology Flowering spring (Apr–Jun).
Habitat Open places, especially in chaparral
Elevation 0-300 m (0-1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WA; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Within the flora area, Eschscholzia ramosa is known only from the California Channel Islands.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Eschscholzia californica is the state flower of California. Although it is toxic to humans, its roots are relished by gophers. Widely planted in North America and elsewhere as an ornamental, roadside, and reclamation plant, with many color forms in the horticultural trade, it often escapes but usually does not persist.

This species is highly variable (more than 90 infraspecific taxa have been described), not only among different plants and locations but also within individual plants over the course of the growing season, especially in petal size and color (see W. L. Jepson 1909-1943, vol. 1, part 7, pp. 564-569).

Native Americans used Eschscholzia californica (no varieties specified) to treat lice, to induce sleep in children, as a poison, for consumption, for toothaches, and as an emetic (D. E. Moerman 1986).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Spreading rim of receptacular cup prominent; cotyledons usually 2-lobed; inland valleys, California.
subsp. californica
1. Spreading rim of receptacular cup often inconspicuous; cotyledons unlobed; southwestern deserts.
subsp. mexicana
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Papaveraceae > Eschscholzia Papaveraceae > Eschscholzia
Sibling taxa
E. caespitosa, E. californica, E. glyptosperma, E. hypecoides, E. lemmonii, E. lobbii, E. minutiflora, E. parishii, E. rhombipetala
E. caespitosa, E. glyptosperma, E. hypecoides, E. lemmonii, E. lobbii, E. minutiflora, E. parishii, E. ramosa, E. rhombipetala
Subordinate taxa
E. californica subsp. californica, E. californica subsp. mexicana
Synonyms E. elegans var. ramosa
Name authority (Greene) Greene: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 13: 217. (1886) Chamisso: in C. G. D. Nees, Horae Phys. Berol., 73, plate 15. (1820)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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