California Poppies

My wife and I were driving along east of Palmdale, California recently and noticed a reference on the map to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Although we didn't stop at the reserve itself, following are some of the scenes in the area. The last 2 years these fields were all brown due to drought conditions, but this year the fields have come alive with poppies. Since it was extremely windy, the flower petals are closed up, but the orange color of the poppies was a sight to behold. They only bloom from March thru May so we were fortunate to be able to see them. You can see why they are the California state flower.

California State Flower

California Poppy

Eschscholtzia californica

California Indians cherished the poppy as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant. Its botanical name, Eschsholtzia californica, was given by Adelbert Von Chamisso, a naturalist and member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, who dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1816 in a bay surrounded by hills of the golden flowers. Also sometimes known as the flame flower, la amapola, and copa de oro (cup of gold), the poppy grows wild throughout California. It became the state flower in 1903. Every year April 6 is California Poppy Day, and Governor Wilson proclaimed May 13-18, 1996, Poppy Week.