Tree-poppy

Dendromecon rigida, the tree-poppy or bush poppy, is an evergreen shrub of the poppy family endemic to chaparral and rocky slopes of California and northern Baja California, where it is particularly abundant on recently burned hillsides and well-drained sandy or gravelly soils. It grows 1-3 m tall, sometimes taller, with multiple slender, erect, woody stems and smooth, pale grey bark that flakes off in thin papery strips. The alternate, leathery, evergreen leaves are lanceolate to elliptic, 3-10 cm long, with finely serrulate margins and a distinctly bluish to glaucous-green colour. From spring into early summer, and sometimes sporadically through the year, the bush is dotted with showy four-petalled flowers 4-7 cm across; the bright clear-yellow petals surround a dense central tuft of numerous golden stamens. The fruit is a long, narrow, slightly curved capsule 5-10 cm long that splits open from the base to release many small dark seeds.