Pricklepoppy
Argemone pleiacantha, Poppy Family ( Papaveraceae ), Pricklepoppy. Also called: Southwestern Prickly Poppy, Bluestem Pricklepoppy, Crested pricklepoppy, Thistle Poppy, Chicalote, and Cowboy's Fried Egg.
Perennial forb.
All parts of this plant are considered poisonous; however, mourning doves eat the seeds. There are 6 species of Argemone in Arizona.
Height: Up To About 16 - 24 Inches Tall.
Flowers: Large white to occasionally pinkish flowers, 2 to 3 inches across, fragrant with 4 to 6 petals and many orange colored stamens. There are 2 or 3 green sepals covering the flower bud.
Blooming Time: Mid March - November.
Leaves: Alternate, bluish green, deeply lobed, clasp the stem at the base, and are 2 to 8 inches long, spiny leaves.
Seeds & Seed PodsEach bears a long slender horn which ends in one stiff spine, and usually with no additional spines, but sometimes 1 to 3 very slender ones near the base. The prickly oblong seedpods are 1 to 1 1/2 inches long, and produce many dark brown or blackish seeds.
The rounded seeds are about 1/6 to 1/12 inch in diameter, the surface finely honeycombed, with a raised scar down one side.
Found: Native in Arizona and found in Yavapai, Maricopa, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, and Pima Counties.
Elevation: 500 to 5,400 Feet.
Habitat: A native plant growing in dry disturbed soil of roadsides, old fields, waste places, washes, mesas, and uncultivated areas. These are very drought resistant plants. They come in abundance on overgrazed ranges.
Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken April 29, 2003. Near Wickenburg.
