Mojave prickly poppy

Description

Argemone corymbosa, the Mojave prickly poppy, is a flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae native to the eastern Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States. It especially common around Cima, California and the nearby community of Kelso, California. The plant grows in sandy places and on dry slopes, and is very similar to desert prickly poppy. It is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 40–80 cm tall, with distinctive orange latex in the stems. The leaves are 8–15 cm long, with prickly margins. The flowers are 4–8 cm diameter, with four white petals and an orange-colored center. Argemone is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae commonly known as prickly poppies. There are about 32 species native to the Americas and Hawaii. The generic name originated as ἀργεμώνη in Greek and was applied by Dioscorides to a poppy-like plant used to treat cataracts.