Growing wild throughout the state, the California Poppy was an important resource for
the indigenous peoples of California, who used it for both food and oil. They also used
the pollen as a colorful cosmetic.
The state flower actually grows wild as far north as southern Washington state and as far
south as Baja California, Mexico, but it’s most closely associated with California, not just
because of its name but also because of the state’s vast ranges of rolling hills turned
golden by its delicate petals.
Being drought-resistant, the California Poppy is particularly adapted to the California
climate and is extremely successful everywhere in the state it grows.
It was quite easy therefore for Californians to have brought this hardy wildflower into
their home gardens to add color and also to attract pollinators such as bees and
hummingbirds. It’s quite common today to find the California Poppy growing in flower
gardens from San Diego to San Francisco, including Los Angeles and San Jose.
Naturally, residents of all of these California towns consider these attractive flowers as
“their own.”
The California Poppy is a small plant, with one flower per slender stem. A mature plant
may be as short as two inches, yet the hardy seeds for which poppies are known can
spread far and wide and take root in sandy, difficult soil where other plants’ seeds may
fail. The seeds actually prefer to take root in “disturbed” soil which has been broken by
anything from farm tractors to footprints.
In fact, a short distance from Los Angeles you’ll find the Antelope Valley California
Poppy Reserve, a high desert area where the flower practically covers every square inch
of the 1,745-acre site. If you live in or are visiting the region, the best dates to see the
Reserve in full bloom is during wildflower season, which usually starts in mid-March and
lasts through mid-May.
The California state flower has spread to other parts of the country and also to South
America and Australia. It’s other names include la amapola (flame flower)and copa de
oro (cup of gold), as well as dormidera, the drowsy one, because of its tendency to open
its petals later in the morning than most other wildflowers.
San Diego Flower Delivery
California State Flower Sources:
http://www.friendsofedgewood.org/newsletters/1998/9812/poppy.htm
http://www.library.ca.gov/history/symbols.html#Heading5
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=627