[The Poppy Family in the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]
Prickly Poppy, Chicalote
Argemone munita ssp. rotundata
Synonyms: Argemone platyceras, Argemone platyceras var. hispida
The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of prickly poppy.
Photographed in Borrego Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park in southern California..........April 1, 2006. Note the numerous stamens and the prickly fruit peeking out from under the right edge of the petals.
The photo at right shows the form of prickly poppy. Photographed in the Alvord Desert, southeastern Oregon.........June 24, 1999.
Characteristics:
The prickly poppy is also known as chicalote. It is an erect annual or perennial
with stout, branched stems from 30-70 cm high. The herbage consists of numerous
yellow prickles and it is also covered with coarse bristles. The leaves are
oblong to narrowly obovate in shape with the leaf bases sessile or with earlike
lobes. The lower leaves may have winged petioles. The leaves are 10-25 cm long
with the margins cut into narrow, irregular lobes or segments. The leaf margins
and midvein are prickly, and the blades are bristly. When cut, the sap is yellow
or rarely red.
The flowers are found in a close, leafy panicle. The 3 sepals are prickly and
elliptic in shape and are 2-2.5 cm long. The 6 petals are white, broadly obovate
and 4-6 cm long. The 150-250 stamens are grouped into a dense globe-like orb
(See photo above.) The fruit is a cylindric capsule from 3.5-5 cm long. The
capsule is densely covered with stout, appressed yellow spines.
Habitat:
Prickly poppy is found in arid, sandy climates between the elevations of 70-3000
meters.
Range:
Prickly poppy is found from southeastern Oregon south into northern California
(except the coast), the Great Basin, central western California and southwestern
California into northern Baja California.
The photo above shows a close-up of the spiny fruit of prickly poppy. Photographed in Borrego Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park in southern California..............April 1, 2006.
The photo above shows a close-up of the underside of a flower of prickly poppy. Photographed in Borrego Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park in southern California..............April 1, 2006.
The photo above shows a close-up of a basal rosette of leaves of prickly poppy. Without the flowers present, the leaves resemble those of a type of thistle. Photographed in Borrego Palm Canyon, Anza-Borrego State Park in southern California..............April 1, 2006.
The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of prickly poppy. Photographed in the Alvord Desert, southeastern Oregon..........June 24, 1999.
Paul Slichter