California Poppy #2

These are real wild beauties of spring. California Poppy. I capture them every year, I wait for them to bloom in the morning, they are nature's smile... more

by Rima Biswas

Title

California Poppy #2

Artist

Rima Biswas

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

These are real wild beauties of spring. California Poppy. I capture them every year, I wait for them to bloom in the morning, they are nature's smile towards the sun.
Some in formation about these from wiki.
Eschscholzia californica (California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight, cup of gold) is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico, and the official state flower of California.
It is a perennial or annual growing to 5�60 in (13�150 cm) tall, with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are ternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2 to 6 cm (0.79 to 2.4 in) long and broad; flower color ranges from yellow to orange, with flowering from February to September. The petals close at night or in cold, windy weather and open again the following morning, although they may remain closed in cloudy weather.[1] The fruit is a slender, dehiscent capsule 3 to 9 cm (1.2 to 3.5 in) long, which splits in two to release the numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It survives mild winters in its native range, dying completely in colder climates.
Its native habitat includes California, extending to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and northwest Baja California.[1]
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in northern Los Angeles County, California. At the peak of the blooming season, orange petals seem to cover all 1,745 acres (706 ha) of the reserve. Other prominent locations of California poppy meadows are in Bear Valley (California, Colusa County), Point Buchon and numerous other locations.
As the official state flower of California Eschscholzia californica is pictured on welcome signs along highways entering California.[12] It was selected as the state flower by the California State Floral Society in December 1890, winning out over the Mariposa lily (genus Calochortus) and the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) by a landslide, but the state legislature did not make the selection official until 1903. Its golden blooms were deemed a fitting symbol for the Golden State. April 6 is designated California Poppy Day.

Uploaded

April 24th, 2013