Search the site...

LIBRARIES OF LIFE
  • Home
  • About iDigBio and the AR Collection Card Project
  • ARPEO Project
  • PROJECT REPORT 2022
  • Macrofungi: The Daisy Earthstar
    • New England Vascular Plants: The Cardinal Flower
    • Take a Closer Look: Reindeer moss
    • Take a Closer Look: Daisy Earthstars
  • The Consortia of North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Greygreen Reindeer Lichen
    • Keys to the Cabinet: SE Plants: The White-topped Pitcher Plant
  • Invertnet Collection Network: The Thorn Bug
    • Take a Closer Look: Thorn Bug Treehopper
  • Paleoniches: Brachiopods
  • Ammonite
  • iDigBio: Channel Catfish
  • Great Lakes Invasive Network: Zebra mussel
  • Tri-Trophic Thematic Collection Network: Stink Bug Parasitoid
  • Macroalgal: Elk Kelp
  • Insect Fossils: Tsetse Fly
  • SCAN: Earth-boring Scarab Beetle
  • InvertEBase: Carolina Mantis
  • EPICC: Fossil Crab
  • Animal Communication: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Poweshiek Skipperling
  • RINGTAIL
  • Tarantula Hawk
    • Take a Closer Look: at the Tarantula Hawk
  • Sonoran Mantid
  • California Leaf-nosed Bat
    • Take a Closer Look: Bat Wings
  • Pipevine Swallowtail
    • Plants to attract Pipevine Swallowtails
  • Desert Hairy Scorpion
  • Gila Monster
  • Ocotillo
  • California Poppy
  • Anna's hummingbird
    • Plants to attract Hummingbirds
  • Monarch
    • Plants to attract Monarchs
  • Bumblebee
    • Plants to Attract Bumblebees
  • White-nosed coati
  • Asian Long-horned beetle
    • ALB Life Cycle
  • Learning Resources
    • Latitude and Longitude Game
  • Special Thanks
  • Give Us Your Feedback!
  • Contact Us
  • Specimen Cards
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TEST page
  • Human Evolution lab
  • Skull 8
  • Home
  • About iDigBio and the AR Collection Card Project
  • ARPEO Project
  • PROJECT REPORT 2022
  • Macrofungi: The Daisy Earthstar
    • New England Vascular Plants: The Cardinal Flower
    • Take a Closer Look: Reindeer moss
    • Take a Closer Look: Daisy Earthstars
  • The Consortia of North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Greygreen Reindeer Lichen
    • Keys to the Cabinet: SE Plants: The White-topped Pitcher Plant
  • Invertnet Collection Network: The Thorn Bug
    • Take a Closer Look: Thorn Bug Treehopper
  • Paleoniches: Brachiopods
  • Ammonite
  • iDigBio: Channel Catfish
  • Great Lakes Invasive Network: Zebra mussel
  • Tri-Trophic Thematic Collection Network: Stink Bug Parasitoid
  • Macroalgal: Elk Kelp
  • Insect Fossils: Tsetse Fly
  • SCAN: Earth-boring Scarab Beetle
  • InvertEBase: Carolina Mantis
  • EPICC: Fossil Crab
  • Animal Communication: Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • Poweshiek Skipperling
  • RINGTAIL
  • Tarantula Hawk
    • Take a Closer Look: at the Tarantula Hawk
  • Sonoran Mantid
  • California Leaf-nosed Bat
    • Take a Closer Look: Bat Wings
  • Pipevine Swallowtail
    • Plants to attract Pipevine Swallowtails
  • Desert Hairy Scorpion
  • Gila Monster
  • Ocotillo
  • California Poppy
  • Anna's hummingbird
    • Plants to attract Hummingbirds
  • Monarch
    • Plants to attract Monarchs
  • Bumblebee
    • Plants to Attract Bumblebees
  • White-nosed coati
  • Asian Long-horned beetle
    • ALB Life Cycle
  • Learning Resources
    • Latitude and Longitude Game
  • Special Thanks
  • Give Us Your Feedback!
  • Contact Us
  • Specimen Cards
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TEST page
  • Human Evolution lab
  • Skull 8

California poppy: Did you know?

Picture
Click link to download card
Eschscholzia californica ssp. Mexicana



Picture
Picture
​The Mexican poppy is one of the first Sonoran Desert wildflowers to emerge in the spring. It can be seen on roadsides, yards, and all across parks and preserves in Phoenix and Scottsdale. Look around you in February and March – you’ll see them everywhere!

​There are other types of poppies in the Sonoran Desert, such as the California poppy. You can tell the difference by looking at the underside of the flower. The California poppy has a small leaf-like ring where the stem meets the petals. The Mexican poppy has none.
 
​
Flowers of the Mexican poppy are yellow or orange, and sometimes there will be both colors on the same plant! The flowers open in the morning but only open on bright, sunny days. On cold, cloudy and windy days, you will notice that they remain closed. The flowers are an important source of pollen for native bees, which use it to create “bee bread” to feed their young, or larva. In turn, the bees bring pollen from one poppy to another, which is necessary to produce seeds. It’s a win-win relationship!
The leaves and stems are blue-green and split into many parts, making them look “lacey”. Although beautiful, the leaves and stems are actually poisonous. Having poisonous leaves helps protect the plant from being eaten by deer, javelina, rabbits, and other herbivores before they can produce seeds.
 
Speaking of seeds, the seeds of the poppy are tiny. Also, seeds will wait in the ground for several years waiting for beneficial moisture conditions.
 
Image credit: Mexican Poppy Fields. By Hillebrand Steve, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons




Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.