Taxon	Illustrator ⠉
	Eschscholzia minutiflora Eschscholzia californica subsp. californica Eschscholzia glyptosperma	John Myers John Myers John Myers
	Arctomecon californica Eschscholzia lobbii Eschscholzia lemmonii subsp. lemmonii Arctomecon humilis	John Myers John Myers John Myers John Myers

Herbs, annual or perennial, scapose or caulescent, from taproots; sap colorless or clear orange. Stems leafy. Leaves alternate, basal and sometimes cauline, petiolate; blade 1-4× pinnately deeply lobed, lobes of each order usually 3; ultimate lobes narrow. Inflorescences terminal, cymose with bracts present, or 1-flowered. Flowers: receptacle dilated, forming cup beneath calyx, sometimes with free rim; perianth and androecium perigynous; sepals 2, connate, calyptrate, deciduous as unit; petals 4, rarely more (doubled flowers), obovate to obcuneate, with satin sheen from microscopic linear grooves; stamens 12-many; pistil 2-carpellate; ovary 1-locular; style absent; stigmas 4-8, spreading, linear. Fruits capsular, cylindric, 2-valved, dehiscing from base along placentas, often explosively. Seeds many, tan, brown, or black, spheric to ovoid, reticulate, ridged and burlike, or pitted, aril absent. x = 6, 7.

Distribution

w North America (United States), nw Mexico

Discussion

Species 12 (10 in the flora).

Eschscholzia species are introduced from cultivation elsewhere in warm-temperate regions worldwide.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Eschscholzia caespitosa, Eschscholzia californica, Eschscholzia glyptosperma, Eschscholzia hypecoides, Eschscholzia lemmonii, Eschscholzia lobbii, Eschscholzia minutiflora, Eschscholzia parishii, Eschscholzia ramosa, Eschscholzia rhombipetala

Key

1	Receptacular cup with spreading free rim.	Eschscholzia californica
1	Receptacular cup without spreading free rim.	> 2
2	Plants scapose; ultimate leaf lobes acute; petals yellow; calyx glabrous.	> 3
2	Plants caulescent, with flowers borne on leafy stems (not readily apparent in young plants); ultimate leaf lobes acute or obtuse; petals yellow or orange; calyx glabrous or pubescent.	> 4
3	Seeds burlike with raised ridges; petals 12 mm or shorter; California (Great Central Valley, Sierra Nevada foothills).	Eschscholzia lobbii
3	Seeds minutely pitted, not burlike; petals usually 12 mm or longer; California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah (Mojave and Sonoran deserts).	Eschscholzia glyptosperma
4	Calyx pubescent; buds nodding; leaf blades sparsely pubescent.	> 5
4	Calyx glabrous; buds nodding or erect; leaf blades essentially glabrous, never consistently pubescent.	> 6
5	Petals orange or deep yellow throughout, 15–40 mm; receptacles broader than 1.5 mm.	Eschscholzia lemmonii
5	Petals yellow, sometimes with orange spot at base, 10–20 mm; receptacles narrower than 1.5 mm.	Eschscholzia hypecoides
6	Older buds nodding.	> 7
6	Older buds erect.	> 8
7	Leaf blades bright green or yellow-green, terminal lobes slender, acute.	Eschscholzia parishii
7	Leaf blades grayish or bluish green, terminal lobes broadened at apex, usually obtuse.	Eschscholzia minutiflora
8	Receptacle somewhat swollen and translucent distally, usually broader than 2 mm.	> 9
8	Receptacle strictly obconic, not translucent distally, narrower than 2.5 mm.	> 10
9	Petals (15–)20 mm or more, orange or deep yellow; California (Kern County).	Eschscholzia lemmonii
9	Petals 15 mm or less, yellow; inland California Coast Ranges.	Eschscholzia rhombipetala
10	Flower buds blunt or rounded short-acuminate, tip less than 1/4 length of bud; ultimate leaf lobes elongate, giving diffuse appearance; California Channel Islands.	Eschscholzia ramosa
10	Flower buds apiculate-acuminate, tip usually more than 1/4 length of bud; ultimate leaf lobes short, giving compact appearance; California and Oregon mainland foothills.	Eschscholzia caespitosa