Eschscholzia caespitosa
Foothill poppy
(c) naturalist charlie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Papaveraceae · Type: Herb · Native
Eschscholzia caespitosa (Foothill poppy) is a native California herb in the Papaveraceae family, recognized by erect buds with long tips and deep yellow petals.
Foothill poppy is a California native annual found in the California Floristic Province on open chaparral or grassy slopes at elevations below 1,800 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces deep yellow flowers with occasional orange-spotted bases, 10 to 30 millimeters long. Growing 5 to 30 centimeters tall with an erect habit, the plant is glabrous and occasionally appears bluish-green. Its leaves are divided into segments that can be either obtuse or acute, with each flower stem subtended by a leaf. The slender seed pods reach 4 to 8 centimeters long, containing seeds that are elliptic to obovate, brown to black, and intricately net-ridged.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 8 sympatric species; distinguished by erect buds with long tips and deep yellow petals
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open chaparral or grassy slopes
Elevation: < 1800 m
California counties: Kern, Santa Barbara, Tuolumne, Los Angeles, Tulare, Ventura, San Bernardino, Napa, Colusa, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Fresno, Riverside, Shasta, Lake, Solano, Mariposa, San Benito, San Diego, El Dorado, Placer, Calaveras, Amador, Glenn, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Nevada, Plumas, Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Yuba, Madera, Mendocino, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama, Contra Costa, Trinity, Alameda, Yolo, Orange, Kings, Inyo, Lassen
Outside California: southwestern Oregon, northern Baja Californica
Bloom period
Eschscholzia caespitosa blooms Mar-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Papaver: Eschscholzia sepals form pointed cap that pops off; Papaver has 2 separate hairy sepals.; vs Artemisia: Eschscholzia has 4-petaled flowers; Artemisia has tiny clustered flower heads, no petals.; vs Dendromecon: Eschscholzia is herbaceous annual; Dendromecon is woody shrub with undivided leaves.; vs Afropapaver: Eschscholzia has cup-shaped receptacle; Afropapaver has flat receptacle.; vs Camissoniopsis: Eschscholzia has numerous stamens; Camissoniopsis has exactly 8 stamens.
Frequently asked questions
Is Eschscholzia caespitosa native to California?
Yes. Eschscholzia caespitosa is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Eschscholzia caespitosa bloom?
Eschscholzia caespitosa blooms Mar-Jun.
Where in California does Eschscholzia caespitosa grow?
Eschscholzia caespitosa occurs in Kern, Santa Barbara, Tuolumne, Los Angeles, Tulare, Ventura, San Bernardino, Napa and other counties, at elevations of < 1800 m.
What plant family does Eschscholzia caespitosa belong to?
Eschscholzia caespitosa is in the Papaveraceae family, genus Eschscholzia.
What habitat does Eschscholzia caespitosa grow in?
Eschscholzia caespitosa grows in Open chaparral or grassy slopes.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.