SOME SIMPLE FLOWERS 19 



The Romneya Coulteri resembles the Matilija so 

 closely that it is often called Matilija. It does differ 

 in some ways. Its branches come up more firmly 

 from the base, and its sepals are smooth, with no 

 hairs. As every Poppy has the habit of pushing off 

 its sepal cap when it is ready to bloom, people do 

 not generally notice its calyx. The Romneya Coul- 

 teri blossom looks exactly like that of the Romneya 

 trichocalyx, so it is little wonder we confuse them. 

 Coulteri is for Dr. Thomas Coulter, who botanized 

 in Mexico for many years, and who collected the 

 wildflowers of California in 1831 and 1832. His 

 collection was sent to Trinity College, Dublin. After 

 his death, the collection was arranged by Professor 

 W. H. Harvey, the curator of the herbarium of 

 Trinity College, and it is still to be found there. 



All three of these poppies are widely cultivated 

 today. The Eschscholtzia loses heart when trans- 

 ported from its native land and blooms paler and 

 weaker and less satiny. It has been evolved into 

 various shades of pink and red, but under cultiva- 

 tion, it never matches in beauty its glorious wild 

 abandon. The two Romneyas retain their native 

 qualities and are handsome additions to garden or 

 park. Today we value our poppies chiefly for their 

 beauty, but the Spanish Californians used to fry the 

 leaves of californica in olive oil for a hair tonic, 

 and the Indians before them used the leaves as 



