COPA DE ORO. CALIFORNIA POPPY. TOROSA.
Eschscholtzia Californica, Cham. Poppy Family.
Stems.—Twelve to eighteen inches high; branching. Leaves.—Alternate; finely dissected; glaucous. Flowers.—Two or three inches across; usually orange; but ranging from that to white. Summit of the peduncle enlarging into a cup-shaped torus or disk, upon the upper inner surface of which are borne the calyx, corolla, and stamens. Calyx.—A pointed green cap, falling early. Petals.—Four. Stamens.—Numerous, in four groups, in front of the petals. Anthers linear. Ovary.—One-celled. Style short. Stigmas four to six; unequal. Capsule.—Cylindrical; ten-nerved; two or three inches long. Hab.—Throughout California.
Thy satin vesture richer is than looms Of Orient weave for raiment of her kings! Not dyes of olden Tyre, not precious things Regathered from the long-forgotten tombs Of buried empires, not the iris plumes That wave upon the tropics' myriad wings, Not all proud Sheba's queenly offerings Could match the golden marvel of thy blooms. For thou art nurtured from the treasure-veins Of this fair land; thy golden rootlets sup Her sands of gold—of gold thy petals spun. Her golden glory, thou! On hills and plains, Lifting, exultant, every kingly cup Brimmed with the golden vintage of the sun.
—Ina D. Coolbrith
[CALIFORNIA POPPY—Eschscholtzia Californica.]
![[CALIFORNIA POPPY—Eschscholtzia Californica.]](#3624944100741987669_f038.png.id-4212417664350175558.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
It is difficult to exaggerate the charms of this wonderful flower. When reproduced in countless millions, its brilliant blossoms fairly cover the earth; and far away upon distant mountain-slopes, bright patches of red gold denote that league after league of it lies open to the sun. It revels in the sunshine, and not until the morning is well advanced does it begin to unfurl its tightly rolled petals.
In the early days, when Spanish vessels sailed up and down the newly-discovered coast, the mariners, looking inland, saw the flame of the poppies upon the hills and called this "the land of fire." They said that the altar-cloth of San Pascual was spread upon the hills, and, filled with a devotional spirit, they disembarked to worship upon the shore.
This flower is now cultivated in many parts of the world. But one can form no conception of it, pale and languishing in a foreign garden. One must go to its native hillsides to get any idea of its prodigal beauty.
The common title, "California poppy," though it has been widely used, is open to the objection that it belongs more properly to another flower, Papaver Californicum. The generic name is dissonant and harsh. Why not replace it by one of the more euphonious Spanish titles—"amapola," "dormidera," "torosa," or, most charmingly appropriate of all, "copa de oro,"—"cup of gold"?
There are many forms of Eschscholtzia, and of late the original species, E. Californica, has been divided into a number of new species, which are, however, difficult of determination.
The Indians of Placer County, it is said, boil the herbage, or roast it by means of hot stones, lay it in water afterward, and then eat it as a green. A drug made from this plant is used in medicine as a harmless substitute for morphine and as a remedy for headache and insomnia, and it has an especially excellent effect with children. The Spanish-Californians make a hair-oil, which they prize highly, by frying the whole plant in olive oil and adding some choice perfume. This is said to promote the growth of the hair and to make it glossy.