Tree-Poppy
Dendromecon Rigidum, Benth. Poppy Family
Shrubs two to eight feet high. Leaves.—One to three inches long; leathery. Flowers.—Solitary; yellow; one to three inches across. Sepals.—Two; falling early. Petals.—Four. Stamens.—Many. Ovary.—Linear; one-celled. Stigma two-lobed. Capsule.—Eighteen to thirty lines long. Hab.—Dry hills from San Diego to Butte County.
The tree-poppy is the only truly woody plant in the poppy family. Its pale leaves are quite rigid, and resemble those of the willow in form. The bright golden flowers are sometimes three inches across, and one can readily imagine the fine effect produced when many of them are open at once upon a hillside. Though found through quite a range, this shrub attains its most perfect development in Santa Barbara County.
TREE-POPPY—Dendromecon rigidum.