Rancho del Oso State Park is a great place to see California Poppies in the springtime The California Poppy is found among a wide variety of environments locally, and it became the state flower in 1903. It was given its botanical name, Eschsholtzia Californica, by Adelbert Von Chamisso after he arrived in San Francisco in 1816, when the hills glowed orange from all of the poppies on them at the time. California Indians utilized the poppy as a source of food, for its oil, the leaves were used medicinally, the pollen was used cosmetically, and the seeds were used in cooking. Extract from the flower can have a sedative effect when smoked, and tinctures can be made to treat nervousness and insomnia. Every year, April 6 is California Poppy Day, and Governor Wilson proclaimed May 13-18, 1996, Poppy Week. It has been widely believed that it is illegal to cut the plant because it is endangered or because it is the state flower, but that is not true, and the myth most likely originated because it is illegal to cut any flower growing on public highways, and the California Poppy commonly grows alongside roads.

See Also: Flowers, Flower Photos Page, Wildlife, Parks and Open Spaces, Florists

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