Crested Prickly Poppy
Argemone polyanthemos
Crested Prickly Poppy (Argemone polyanthemos) is a native annual or biennial, 25 to 125 cm (10 to 49 inches) tall, with waxy blue-green leaves, slender yellow prickles, yellow sap and white flowers 5 to 12 cm (2 to 5 inches) across around a mass of yellow stamens. It blooms May into September in sandy prairies and pastures from South Dakota and eastern Wyoming south to Texas. Photographed in the Black Hills.
| Family | Papaveraceae · Poppy |
|---|---|
| Status | Native annual |
| Blooms | May into September |
| Height | 25–125 cm (10–49 in) |
| Where | Sandy prairies, pastures, roadsides and disturbed ground; dry soil, full sun |
| Also called | Crested Pricklypoppy, White Prickly Poppy, White Pricklypoppy, Annual Pricklepoppy, Bluestem Pricklepoppy, Thistle Poppy |
| Synonym | Argemone intermedia, Argemone intermedia var. polyanthemos, Argemone platyceras |
| Toxicity | All parts are poisonous if eaten, including the seeds, and the spines irritate skin. |
| Traditional use | Sitting Bull College's 1998 Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota records that the roots were used to make yellow dye for arrow shafts. |
Roots, seeds & germination
Root: A taproot, with one to a few stems.
Seed: Shiny, dark brown, round seeds in a capsule that matures in late summer and fall.
Germination: Seeds need a 60-day cold treatment in moist sand, or can be planted outdoors in fall.
How do you identify Crested Prickly Poppy?
Big, wrinkled white petals surround a dense center of about 150 yellow stamens. The waxy blue-green stems have yellow prickles and yellow sap. Leaves are lobed, with prickles on the veins underneath and few or none on top. The capsule, 2.5–4 cm long, is covered in stout yellow spines.
When does it bloom?
May into September.
Where does it grow?
Prairies, pastures, roadsides, flood plains and disturbed ground, most abundant in sandy soil, in dry soil and full sun. Its range runs across the Great Plains from South Dakota to Texas.
Other flowers to compare
Sources: SDSU Open PRAIRIE: Argemone polyanthemos; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Argemone polyanthemos; Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses: Prickly poppy; Wild Nature Images: Argemone polyanthemos; Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota (Black Elk and Flying By, Sitting Bull College, 1998), filed with the South Dakota PUC.