FNPS Plant Database

Argemone mexicana

yellow prickly-poppy
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

yellow prickly-poppy

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Argemone mexicana

Family:

Papaveraceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

to 3 ft tall by 1 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

green

Phenology:

Blooms late winter-early spring.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Thorns

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Wildflower garden. Roadside wildflower areas. This plant blooms from late winter into spring displaying its large flowers when little else is blooming in the garden.

Considerations:

Sharp thorn-like prickles cover most of the plant. Highly toxic.

Availability:

Seed

Propagation:

Seed can easily be gathered where this plant grows along roadsides. Throw it in open areas in the wildflower garden and expect it to self-seed in future years.

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Somewhat moist, no flooding -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Circum-neutral to calcareous.

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators

Attracts pollinators including bees, flies, and beetles.  Documented bee species include   Apis mellifera (honeybee), Dialictus tegularis , and Halictus ligatus ( Deyrup et al. 2002) .

Native Habitats:

Ruderal areas. Common on dry roadsides.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This is one of Florida's most showy and most under-appreciated wildflowers. Look for it along disturbed roadsides in mid-late winter and early spring.



This is a personal favorite of one of the authors -- it grows and bloom early and attracts lots of insects.  The only issue is the prickles, so I wear gloves when weeding around it.  It reseeds readily so long as there is good sun and  bare ground where the seeds land.



Don't let the name fool you, this is a Florida native.

Citations:

Deyrup et. al.  2012.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants (http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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