Mojave prickly poppy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mojave prickly poppy |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Argemone
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| Species: |
corymbosa
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The Mojave prickly poppy (Argemone corymbosa) is a beautiful flowering plant that belongs to the poppy family, called Papaveraceae. This plant is native to the eastern part of the Mojave Desert in the southwestern United States. You can often find it growing around places like Cima, California and Kelso, California. It loves sandy areas and dry, sloped land. It looks quite similar to another plant called the desert prickly poppy.
What is the Mojave Prickly Poppy?
The Mojave prickly poppy is a type of perennial plant. This means it grows back year after year, instead of dying completely after one season. It's also an herbaceous plant, which means it has soft, green stems rather than woody ones like a tree or shrub.
What Does It Look Like?
This plant usually grows to be about 40 to 80 centimeters tall, which is roughly the height of a small child. One cool thing about it is that if you break a stem, you'll see a bright orange, milky sap inside. This sap is called latex.
The leaves of the Mojave prickly poppy are about 8 to 15 centimeters long. They have edges that are a bit prickly, so be careful if you touch them!
Its Flowers
The flowers are really pretty and stand out. They are usually 4 to 8 centimeters wide. Each flower has four bright white petals. In the very center of the flower, you'll see a splash of orange color. This makes the flowers quite striking against the desert landscape.
Where Does It Grow?
This plant is specially adapted to live in the dry conditions of the Mojave Desert. It thrives in sandy soils and on slopes where the ground is dry. Its ability to grow in such tough conditions makes it a unique part of the desert's natural beauty.
