W76 

 (leaf 2) 



leaves in olive oil, straining and adding perfume. 2 The foliage 

 yields a drug that has some use as a harmless substitute for mor- 

 phine to relieve headache and insomnia. This species, however, does 

 not contain opium, although it does apparently produce a small 

 amount of morphine. 3 



A very variable plant, California-poppy has been the subject of 

 considerable taxonomic study. The species E. Columbians and E. 

 douglasii of Oregon and Washington, for example, are sometimes 

 considered variations of E. calif orniica. In California, the appar- 

 ent difference of various geographic races largely disappeared when 

 they were grown under identical conditions. 4 In the Sacramento 

 and San Joaquin Valleys, one variety (E. californica crocea) has 

 two seasonal phases: 4 In the spring the stems are numerous and 

 erect, the flowers are large and deep orange, and the receptacle ring 

 very pronounced; in the summer the stems are fewer and more 

 spreading, the buds much shorter and not long-pointed, the flowers 

 small, pale or straw-colored, and the receptacle ring much reduced. 



The individual plants of California-poppy are fairly compact, 

 having many leaves and numerous stems. The foliage contains a 

 colorless juice, but the juice of the roots may sometimes be reddish. 

 The flowers appear in the spring, although, as mentioned previously, 

 some varieties (as crocea) bloom again in the summer or fall. 



GOLDPOPPIES 



Eschschol'tzia spp. 



The goldpoppies, a western North American genus of the poppy 

 family (Papaveraceae), are annual or perennial herbs with watery, 

 bitter juice. All the species resemble California-poppy in having 

 stalked (petioled), ternately divided leaves, 2 sepals united into a 

 cap, which is pushed oft by the 4 unfolding, shiny and orange or 

 straw-colored petals, and elongated, many-seeded capsules. The 

 species are most abundant in California. The genus was named by 

 the eminent German author, traveler, and botanist, Adelbert von 

 Chamisso, in honor of his friend and co-worker, Dr. J. F. Esch- 

 scholtz, who was his companion during the Kotzebue scientific expe- 

 dition around the world, visiting California in 1816. 



As a group goldpoppies inhabit well-drained, sunny slopes, in the 

 foothills and valleys and desert areas below the ponderosa pine belt. 



Several species, notably E. mexieana. and E. glyptosperma,, occur 

 in the desert areas, growing in the sagebrush and creosotebush (Cowl- 

 lea) belts in the Intermountain and Southwest regions. These spe- 

 cies, however, are relatively unimportant on the range, being of 



8 Smith, E. E. THE GOLDEN POPPY. 231 pp., illus. Palo Alto, Calif. 1902. 



8 Wood, H. C., Remington, J. P., and Sadtler, S. P., assisted by Lyons, A. B., and 



Wood, H. C., Jr. THE DISPENSATORY OF THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA, BY DR. GEO. B. 



WOOD AND DR. FRANKLIN BACHE. Ed. 19, thoroughly rev. and largely rewritten . . . 

 1,947 pp. Philadelphia arid London. 1907. 



4 Jepson, W. L. A MANUAL OF THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF CALIITORNIA. 1,238 pp., 

 illus. Berkeley, Calif. [1925.] 



