The California Poppy

California's child am I,
Born 'neath sun and shining sky.
Open hearted is my bloom,
Each who loves will here find room.

A field of California poppies. Their scientific name is Eschscholzia californica.

       Children of California know the Poppy as well as you do the Buttercup. They have seen it rush out after the first fall rains. It grows anywhere, along the railroad track, in grassy meadows, on sunny hilltop. It brightens so much of our land that we have made it our State Flower.
       Has the Poppy the same corolla as the Buttercup? You see at once that it has not. It has only four petals. They are not varnished inside as the petals of Buttercup are. See how satiny they are. This satin finish turns the light into the eye of the insect almost as well as the buttercup's varnish does.
       When Mrs. Bug sees this lovely field of color, she rushes to it. Does she find dishes of honey like Mrs. Buttercup sets out? No, she does not. Mrs. Poppy does not make honey for her visitors. She does make an extra lot of pollen so that they can eat all they want. Just dip your nose into the Poppy center. Ha! Ha!
       Little child, ''you're a dusty fellow,
       You've powdered your 'nose' with gold''.
       As the visiting Bug is eating the pollen, she gets some dust over her. She carries this on her when she crawls into the next Poppy. There the stigmas get hold of the pollen and send it down to the ovules. The Poppy pollen makes the Poppy ovules into Poppy seeds, just as the Buttercup pollen makes the Buttercup ovules into Buttercup seeds.
       See how different the calyx of Poppy is from the calyx of Buttercup. Is it not a dainty little nightcap? Sit still near a Poppy bed some bright warm morning. Keep your eyes on a green wrapped bud. The green cap begins to rise up slowly, showing the orange color inside. It rises higher and higher. Suddenly Pop, off it shoots into the air! Then the four Poppy petals unroll themselves into the beautiful flower.
       After the calyx is thrown off, the corolla does its work. Each night the petals wrap themselves tightly around the stamens and pistils. Or if the weather is cloudy or foggy or rainy, the petals curl tightly to keep the pistils and stamens safe from harm.
       See how the Poppy petals sit upon a little platform. If you pull off a petal, what comes with it? If you pull off all four petals, what is still on top of the platform? Can you tell us, children, what is it that comes off with the petals?
       The Stamens?
       Yes that is right. And what stays on the platform?
       The pistil?

California poppy parts.

        Yes that is right. Look how the seed-case grows through this platform. See the little ribs along its sides. Watch it as it grows older. See how it twists until it opens and scatters its seeds. If a strong wind is blowing when the seed-case opens, the little black seeds get carried far off.

       Notice Mrs. Poppy's leaves. Are they the same shape as the Buttercup leaves? Do they come out from the stem in the same way? Are they the same shade of green? Which do you think is prettier, a bunch of Buttercup leaves or a bunch of Poppy leaves?

       Does the root of the Poppy die when the leaves fade away? See for yourself.

       You can use the Poppy seeds at your doll parties. They are good to eat. You know we buy Poppy Seed Bread and Poppy Seed Buns at the bakeries.

       If you had been born a Californian Native long ago, your Mother would have boiled some Poppy leaves for greens for you. They might taste bitter to you today, when you are used to spinach, but they tasted good to little native children two hundred years ago.

       If you had been born a Spanish Californian boy or girl, your Mother would have fried some Poppy leaves in olive oil. Then, she would have rubbed this grease on your head. It made the hair long and glossy. The Spanish Californians all had lovely hair.

       Today some people use Poppy juice to cure headaches or to make them go to sleep. I will tell you a secret. Cross your heart and promise not to tell. No, on second thought, I think it would be better to tell every one you meet.

       Just spend some time each day out in the sunshine studying the Poppy habits. Then, you can snap your fingers at any old headache, and you will sleep as sound as a log. Sweet dreams!

Take a Kid Safari to see poppies!
Learn how to make poppy flower dolls here.

Back to "Little Blossoms" Doll Summer Camp Index