Flower ResourcesDiscover the right flowers for your garden.
" The Matilija Poppy must be conceded the queen of all bloom . " — Mary Elizbeth Parsons , The Wild Flowers of California , 1897 .
" [ Romneyais ] the fairest plant life that ever came to our domain from that country of flower , California . " — William Robinson , The English Garden , 1921 .
Romneya coulteriin flush at Washington Park ’s Shakespeare Garden , Portland , Ore. Photo by : Anna Laurent .
Matilija poppies ( pronounced ma - til - EE - ha ) are fondly referred to as the fried egg heyday , dub for washy - muslin petals and buttery yellowish stamens that would n’t be out of place on a breakfast plate . The petals are slightly wrinkle , as if they have n’t yet ironed themselves for the Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . aboriginal to coastal ranges and valleys of Southern California & Baja Mexico , the Matilija ( Romneya coulteri ) unfold with a bedazzle sunny countenance when planted in full sunlight . bloom begins in early May , and span northwards along the west coast — the poppies are now still blooming in Oregon ’s summer sun .
The flower was a competitor for the title of land heyday of California in 1890 , but was shoot down by the smaller , orange California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica ) . Matilija notwithstanding remain a fixity in many California garden , where it is alternately praised and scolded for its tenacity — it will take over a garden , but at least it ’s so pretty . Adapted to rough condition of the scrub , matilijas are good at colonizing after a burn , seeding prolifically , and developing wide root systems . The steel - gloomy leaf is leathery , as you would expect of a drouth - love plant .
Romneya coulteriseed seedpod . Photo by : Anna Laurent .
Each flower is about four inch long , with a show - stopping eight inches as the largest on disc . It ’s the largest bloom of any poppy , and also of California aboriginal plant , allot to the California Native Plant Society . The plant is a perennial shrublet that develops woody stems and a duo of up to seven across and six feet marvellous . Cut all woody stems to the ground in the fall or winter , and the plant will uprise from rhizome next time of year .
Look for the seed seedpod in the coming months . come will begin dispersing when the pods sour dry and brown , and the sides arch outwards to make openings at the top . When empty , a stripped cum pod resemble a empty snort John Cage . Until then , it will shake with century of seeds , as poppies run to do . The Matilija may have lost the title of California flower , but it the only poppy with a breakfast blossom to go with its salt & pepper shaker seed pod .
Related : The Remembrance Poppy
