Eschscholzia minutiflora – “Pygmy Poppy”

Also Known As: Little Gold Poppy
Family: Poppy (Papaveraceae)
Form: Annual herb
Habitat: Sandy washes, gravelly flats and roadsides
Leaves: Pinnately-divided, leaflets linear; mostly basal
Translation: “Eschscholzia” is named for Dr. Johann Friedrich Gustav von Eschscholtz (1753-1831), a Balkan surgeon, entomologist and botanist who visited California with the Russian expeditions in the early 1800’s; “minutiflora” is Latin for “small-flowered,” which, for this genus, this species has.
Notes: Besides flower size, Pygmy Poppy is most easily distinguished from its fellow Eschscholzias by its very branchy growth habit.