Prickly poppy

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Prickly poppy bracts

Prickly poppy leaves

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy leaves and stem

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy capsules

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Prickly poppy

Morphology

Stem

Erect, stout, mostly solitary, unbranched or branched above, bluish green, waxy, sparingly prickly, contain yellowish orange sap.

Leaves

Alternate, fleshy, bluish green, waxy, mostly glabrous above, prickles on veins below; lower leaves stalked, oblanceolate, 3 to 10 inches long, 1 to 4 inches wide, deeply pinnately lobed; upper leaves sessile or clasping, elliptic, oblong or ovate, reduced in size, only shallowly lobed; margins wavy, spiny-toothed.

Inflorescence

1- or few-flowered clusters, near top of stem.

Flower

Showy, 2 to 4 inches wide; sepals 3, widely elliptic, waxy, prickly; petals 6, large, white, thin, wrinkled; stamens numerous, yellow, in spherical arrangement; stigma 3-5 lobed.

Fruit

Capsules, elliptic, 1 to 1.5 inches long, about .5 inch wide, covered with stout yellow spines; seeds numerous, small, shiny, dark brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Prairies, waste areas, pastures, flood plains, disturbed areas, and roadsides, most abundant in sandy soils.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Uses

Native Americans used the bright yellow sap to remove warts and to dye arrow shafts; used the crushed seeds to treat burns, cuts, and sores; and boiled the plant and applied the resulting liquid to sunburns.

Additional Notes