POPPY FAMILY. Papaveraceae. 
POPPY FAMILY. Papaveraceae. 
A rather large family, widely distributed, most abun- 
dant in the north temperate zone; herbs, rarely shrubs, 
with milky, mostly yellow juice and narcotic or acrid 
properties; the leaves mostly alternate, without stipules; 
the parts of the flower usually all separate and distinct, 
borne on a top-shaped receptacle. There are usually two 
sepals, which fall off when the blossom opens, and usually 
four petals, overlapping and crumpled in the bud; the 
stamens are usually numerous and conspicuous, with 
thread-like filaments; the superior ovary becomes a many- 
seeded capsule. 
There are only two kinds of Romneya, much alike, 
smooth, stout, perennial herbs, several feet high, with 
colorless sap, the leaves alternate and more or less divided; 
three sepals, each with a broad wing on the back; six, large, 
white petals; many stamens; the ovary covered with 
bristles. These plants are nowhere common, but are 
found from Santa Barbara south, and in lower California 
sometimes grow in great profusion. They are extensively 
cultivated and much admired abroad. 
‘n This is often considered the handsomest 
ae >) Taal flower in the West and it would be hard 
to find anything more beautiful and 
Romnéya tS; : ; 
trichocalyx striking than its magnificent blossoms. 
White The plant has somewhat the effect cf a 
pee Peony-bush, sometimes, in cultivation, as 
California 
much as five feet high, with many smooth 
stems and handsome, smooth, light-green foliage, the 
leaves cut and lobed, those near the top with a few prickles. 
The splendid flowers are enormous, from five to nine 
inches across, with diaphanous, white petals, crinkled like 
crépe tissue-paper, and bright golden centers, composed of 
hundreds of yellow stamens surrounding a greenish-white 
pistil. The blossoms remain open for several days. The 
hard, round buds are covered with short, brown hairs. 
This is the true Matilija Poppy, (pronounced Matiliha,) 
as it is the kind that grows in the canyon of that name, 
but the tremendous floods of 1914 drowned most of these - 
beautiful plants in that locality. R. Coulteri is similar, 
but the buds are smooth and the stems more robust. 
160 
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