Eschscholzia caespitosa is a species in the Papaveraceae (Poppy) family known by the common names Tufted Poppy and Foothill poppy. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California where it is a member of the chaparral plant community. In California it is found primarily in the central Coast Ranges, the Sierra foothills, and the Transverse Range. This is an annual herb which is quite similar in appearance to its relative, the California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica). It produces patches of foliage made up of several leaflets per leaf and thin, erect stems up to 30 centimeters in height. The poppy flower has orange to yellow petals each one to two and a half centimeters long. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule 4 to 8 centimeters long containing tiny dark netted seeds. Because it is an annual, it is best used in a meadow-like setting with other annuals (see below).

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is the state flower of California. Every garden can find a place for this easy, cheerful annual. It self-seeds freely and will give your whole neighborhood poppies, but is not particularly invasive. 

The plant grows in full sun but will tolerate part shade. It reaches one to two foot tall and can be perennial in milder areas. The feathery foliage is blue-green The flowers range from yellow to bright orange, appearing from February to September, though primarily in spring. The petals may remain closed in cloudy weather. The fruit is a slender capsule which splits to release numerous small black or dark brown seeds. The seeds are ready to take when the pods become dry and brown. Birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators are attracted to this plant. Rabbits may browse the leaves but it is deer resistant.

It is best introduced into the garden from seed sown in fall at the start of the rainy season. Do not cover the seeds with soil or mulch. California poppies like fast draining soil and plenty of sunshine but are very hardy and will also thrive in poor soil conditions, such as clay. If planting from seedlings, be careful with the long sensitive roots and water occasionally until established.

A nursery cultivated California Poppy. Pale butter-yellow blooms tip lovely gray-green finely cut foliage. A self-sower that would be dearly missed if it didn't reappear every spring, choosing edges of paths and gravelly well-drained spots.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Champagne California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica 'Champagne') is an annual or perennial with ruffled semi-double flower cups in shades of apricot peach and pink that fade to a creamy champagne hue. Its grey-green ferny foliage complements these colors. This member of the Papaveraceae or poppy family grows widely in grassland across California, and in Oregon and Baja California. 

California poppies are easy to grow from seed. They can prosper in poor soil and with little water. To maintain as a perennial, avoid watering once leaves begin to dry out. Cut back dead growth to the ground once you see a flush of new growth. The plants will self-sow if they are left in place.

California poppies are deer resistant and attract pollinators.

Cherry Swirl California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica 'Cherry Swirl') is a poppy cultivar with semi to fully double, bright red blooms with contrasting golden eyes. The papery petals stand up to all types of summer weather, blooming throughout the season above attractive ferny foliage. 

California Poppy grows in full sun but will tolerate part shade. It reaches one to two foot tall and can be perennial in milder areas.  It self-seeds freely but is not particularly invasive. It is best introduced into the garden from seed sown in fall at the start of the rainy season. Do not cover the seeds with soil or mulch. California poppies like fast draining soil and plenty of sunshine but are very hardy and will also thrive in poor soil conditions, such as clay. If planting from seedlings, be careful with the long sensitive roots and water occasionally until established.

Birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators are attracted to this plant. Rabbits may browse the leaves but it is deer resistant.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from Eschscholzia californica. Mahogany California Poppy is a colorful variation on the California state flower. Scarlet buds are breathtaking before opening. Mahogany Poppy is an annual or biennial, but will become a perennial if coastal, and will flower spring, summer and and into the fall if watered. Mahogany California Poppy is normally quite a low maintenance plant and is very easy to grow - great for beginner gardeners! Plant in full sun in average to poor, well-draining soil.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from Eschscholzia californica. Moonglow California Poppy is a colorful variation on the California state flower. This variety sports beautiful creamy yellow blooms. Moonglow is an annual or biennial, but Will become a perennial if coastal, and will flower spring, summer and into the fall if watered. Moonglow California Poppy is normally quite a low maintenance plant and is very easy to grow - great for beginner gardeners! Plant in full sun in average to poor, well-draining soil Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Horticultural selection from Eschscholzia californica. Eschscholzia californica 'Purple Gleam' is a light purple-pink to dusky rose version of the state flower of the Golden state. Blooms in spring from a fall sowing, or in summer from a spring sowing. Superb in meadows or native gardens. Dead-head for extra long bloom! Poor, dry or good soil. Great for a beginner gardener. Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Yukon gold California poppy (Eschscholzia californica 'yukon gold') is an annual or perennial herb native to California and found elsewhere in western North America.  Flowers appear from spring through summer.  They are two-toned, with an orange center to bright yellow petals. The flower shape may be double, with a ruffled rather than plain cup. 

Yukon gold poppies are easy to grow from seed scattered in fall or early spring and need little water once established. Avoid watering once leaves begin to dry out and they may be perennial. Cut back dead stalks to the ground once you see new growth. The plant will easily self-sow if left in place.

Bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects are attracted to the blooms.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica ssp. californica) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California.

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica ssp. mexicana) is a native annual or perennial herb that grows in southern California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-6600 feet.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected for the garden.

Eschscholzia glyptosperma is a species of poppy known by the common names desert gold poppy, desert golden poppy, and Mojave poppy. It is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Deserts of the Southwestern United States, in California, southern Nevada, western Arizona, and southwestern Utah. It is found in desert washes, flats, and slopes, at elevations of 30-1,600 metres (98-5,249 ft). Eschscholzia glyptosperma is an annual herb growing from a basal patch of leaves divided into pointed segments. It produces erect stems up to about 25 centimeters in height, each bearing a single flower. The poppy flower is bright yellow, with petals one to two and a half centimeters long. It blooms from March to May. The fruit is a capsule 4 to 7 centimeters long filled with tiny rounded brown seeds.

Eschscholzia hypecoides is a species of poppy known by the common name San Benito poppy. The wildflower is endemic to California where it is mainly limited to the Inner Southern California Coast Ranges, in and around San Benito County. It is a plant of oak woodlands, grassland slopes, and chaparral habitats. This wildflower was once considered a variety of the endemic tufted poppy (Eschscholzia caespitosa). Eschscholzia hypecoides is an annual herb with leaves made up of rounded segments and producing fuzzy stems up to 30 centimeters tall. Atop the thin, erect stems are bright yellow to orange poppy flowers. Each flower has petals one or two centimeters long and sometimes spotted with a darker shade of yellow or orange. The fruit is a capsule 3 to 7 centimeters long containing tiny netted brown seeds.

Eschscholzia lemmonii is a species of poppy known by the common name Lemmon's poppy. It is endemic to California, where its distribution includes the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills, and Transverse Ranges. One subspecies, the Tejon poppy, ssp. kernensis, is limited to the mountains of Kern County surrounding the Grapevine. This wildflower is an annual herb growing from a patch of segmented leaves made up of round-edged leaflets. The erect stalks grow up to 30 centimeters tall and bear orange or dark yellow poppy flowers. The fruit is a capsule 3 to 7 centimeters long containing tiny netted brown seeds.

Eschscholzia lobbii is a species of poppy known by the common name frying pans. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the Central Valley and adjacent Sierra Nevada foothills. Frying pans is a small annual herb growing from a patch of segmented leaves with pointed leaflets. It produces erect stalks up to 15 centimeters in height each bearing a single poppy flower. The petals are about a centimeter long and bright yellow to somewhat orange. The fruit is a capsule 3 to 7 centimeters long containing tiny brown seeds. The plant is named after William Lobb (1809 - 1864), the English plant collector.

Though not used as often as California Poppy (E. californica), this one would be a great choice for Central Valley gardens. Its best use is in a meadow-like patch of annual wildflowers.

Eschscholzia minutiflora is a species of poppy known by the common name pygmy poppy. It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. This wildflower is an annual herb growing from a patch of segmented leaves with divided, rounded leaflets. The thin, erect or nodding stems may be very short or up to 35 centimeters tall. They bear small poppy flowers with petals varying in size from only a few millimeters long or up to two and a half centimeters in length, and bright yellow in color, sometimes with orange spotting. The fruit is a capsule 3 to 6 centimeters long containing tiny brown to black seeds.

Eschscholzia parishii, with the common name Parish's poppy, is an annual desert wildflower in the Poppy family (Papaveraceae), native to several North American desert regions. This desert species is related to the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), that's found in Mediterranean climate regions of the state. Eschscholzia parishii is native to the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert surrounding the Salton Sea in southern California, and southwards across the Sonoran Desert southwards along the Gulf of California to the vicinity of Bah a de los Angeles, Baja California.

Kernville Poppy (Eschscholzia procera) is a rare native perennial herb that grows in central California.

Eschscholzia ramosa is a species of poppy known by the common name Channel Islands poppy, or simply island poppy. The plant is endemic to the Channel Islands of California off the Southern California coast (United States), and to Guadalupe Island off the western coast of Baja California state (Mexico). Eschscholzia ramosa is an annual wildflower growing from a clump of foliage made up of segmented leaves with divided, rounded leaflets. The erect stalks grow up to 30 centimeters tall. They bear poppy flowers with yellow petals one half to two centimeters long, often with orange spots near the bases. The fruit is a capsule 4 to 7 centimeters long containing tiny netted brown seeds. Many of the collections identified as Eschscholzia elegans are actually Eschscholzia ramosa.

Eschscholzia rhombipetala, the diamond-petaled California poppy, is endemic to California. It a relative of the California poppy, with diminutive flowers.