Crested pricklypoppy

Description

Argemone polyanthemos, the crested pricklypoppy, is an annual plant with yellow sap and showy white flowers in the poppy family (Papaveraceae).  It can be found in areas with dry soil in most of the North American southwest.  Because of its prickly defenses, and acrid taste from its poisons, grazing animals tend to avoid it, so it increases in numbers compared to other plants in grazed areas. 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.