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Eschscholzia californica

Eschscholzia californica: Flower
Photo by Derrick Ditchburn. High resolution version

Common name:	Californian Poppy	Family:	Papaveraceae
Author:	Cham.	Botanical references:	60, 71, 200
Synonyms:	Eschscholzia douglasii (Torr.)
Known Hazards:	No records of toxicity have been seen but this species belongs to a family that contains many poisonous plants. Some caution is therefore advised.
Range:	Western N. America. A frequent garden escape in Britain.
Habitat:	Grassy open places to 2000 metres in California[71].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	E. californica subsp. californica[G] Eschscholtzia californica[Sdg,Smap,Smk,Sngs]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	California Poppy [P,H,S], California-poppy [B], Californian Poppy [L], Gold Poppy [H], Kaliforniya Hashasi [E], Khishkhash Kalifornia [E], Poppy, California [S], Slaapmutsje [D],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Papaverales. Poppy family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Iraq Mexico Turkey Us
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.3m by 0.15m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - cooked[46, 61, 161]. This plant is in a family that contains many poisonous plants so some caution is advised in using it.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anodyne Antispasmodic Diaphoretic Diuretic Galactofuge Odontalgic.

The Californian poppy is a bitter sedative herb that acts as a diuretic, relieves pain, relaxes spasms and promotes perspiration[238]. The whole plant is harvested when in flower and dried for use in tinctures and infusions[238]. It is taken internally in the treatment of nervous tension, anxiety, insomnia and incontinence (especially in children)[238].
The watery sap is mildly narcotic and has been used to relieve toothache[238]. It is similar in its effect to the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) but is much milder in its action and does not depress the central nervous system[238]. Another report says that it has a markedly different effect upon the central nervous system, that it is not a narcotic but tends to normalize psychological function[254]. Its gently antispasmodic, sedative and analgesic actions make it a valuable herbal medicine for treating physical and psychological problems in children[254]. It may also prove beneficial in attempts to overcome bedwetting, difficulty in sleeping and nervous tension and anxiety[254].
An extract of the root is used as a wash on the breasts to suppress the flow of milk in lactating females[207, 257].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Prefers a poor sandy soil and a sunny position[108, 200] but is easily grown in an ordinary garden soil[1]. Succeeds in a hot dry position. Plants grow well in maritime climates[200].
A very ornamental plant, it is commonly grown in the flower garden and there are many named varieties[200]. This plant is the state flower of California[207]. Although a perennial it is usually quite short-lived and is more often grown as an annual in this country[187, 238]. It can tolerate temperatures down to about -10° c, however, and often survives mild winters[187]. If the dead flowers are removed before they set seed the plant will continue flowering for a longer period[188].
A polymorphic species[71].
Plants resent root disturbance and should be sown in situ[200].
The flowers are very attractive to bees[108]. They close during wet or overcast weather[238].
Plants often self-sow if the soil is disturbed by some means such as hoeing[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow in mid spring or late summer to early autumn in a sunny border outdoors and only just cover the seed[200]. Autumn sown plants may require protection from frosts in cold winters[200]. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 weeks.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[W] Photos (common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Eschscholtzia californica (a possible synonym).

[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Illustration from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for Eschscholzia californica subsp. californica (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.

References for eschscholzia californica (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Papaveraceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[108] International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association. 1981
The title says it all.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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