Synonyms: Eschscholzia mexicana

Common Names: California Poppy, California Gold Poppy, Mexican Gold Poppy, Amapola Amarilla

Family: Papaveraceae (Poppy)

Range:  Native to Western North America from  Baja California and northwest Mexico north to British Colombia. East to Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Idaho.  Also found in a number of midwestern and eastern states. 

Habitat: Coastal, valley, foothill, and desert regions below 7,000 ft.  Fields, prairies, roadsides, disturbed areas, rocky slopes 

Duration: Annual.  Perennial in warmer, moister locales. 

Other: There are a couple subspecies with variants.  Drough tolerant, easy to grow. 

References:  USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Burke Herbarium Image Collection, Calflora, Moore (1993) Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West