Cup of gold

Description:

Also known as California poppy - where it's the state flower. A solitary flower with four gold petals forming a cup when open on a long stem. The flower closes at night and during cool or windy weather and may remain closed during cloudy weather.

Habitat:

Spotted at the edge of a tree line next to a highway. Its native habitat includes California and extends to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and northwest Baja California.

Notes:

California poppy leaves were used medicinally by Native Americans and the pollen was used cosmetically, while the seeds continue to be used in cooking. The plant is used as an herbal remedy: an aqueous extract of the plant has sedative and anxiolytic actions. The extract acts as a mild sedative when smoked, but the effect is far milder than that of opium because California poppy contains a different class of alkaloids.