WIND-POPPY. BLOOD-DROP. FLAMING POPPY.
Meconopsis heterophylla, Benth. Poppy Family.
Smooth herbs. Stems.—Slender; a foot or two high. Leaves.—Mostly petioled; pinnately divided into variously toothed, oval to linear segments. Flowers.—Solitary; on long peduncles; orange-vermilion to scarlet. Sepals.—Two; falling early. Petals.—Four; two to twelve lines long. Stamens.—Numerous. Filaments filiform; purple. Anthers yellow. Ovary.—Top-shaped; ribbed; one-celled. Style short. Stigma large; capitate; four- to eight-lobed. Hab.—Throughout Western California.
The wind-poppy is an exceedingly variable flower. In the central part of the State it is large and showy, its beautiful flame-colored blossoms being two inches across; while in the south it is usually very small, making tiny flecks of red in the grass, for which reason it is there called "blood-drop." It is an exquisite thing. Its petals have the delicate satin texture of the poppy; and their showy orange or scarlet blends suddenly at the center into a deep maroon. The bright-green, top-shaped ovary stands up in the midst of the slender stamens, whose yellow anthers show brilliantly against the dark maroon of the petals.
It blossoms in spring upon open hillsides, seeming to prefer those which are shaded for at least part of the day. It is very fragile, and falls to pieces at a touch, which makes it an unsatisfactory flower to gather.