Eschscholzia hypecoides

San benito poppy, San Benito Poppy

Family: Papaveraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

San benito poppy is a native annual herb ranked 4.3 by CNPS, found in the south-central inner Coast Ranges in grassy areas and open slopes with loose, shale-derived soils at elevations of 200 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces bright yellow flowers 10 to 15 millimeters long with delicate, nodding buds. Growing with erect stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall and sparsely hairy throughout, it has a slender, upright form. Its finely divided leaves have obtuse segments that are sparsely minute-hairy, creating a delicate, feathery appearance. The plant produces elongated fruits 3 to 7 centimeters long, with small brown seeds that have a distinctive net-ridged surface.

Habitat: Grassy areas or loose, generally shale-derived bare soils on open slopes

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 200-1600 m

Bioregions: SCoRI.

California counties: Santa Barbara, Fresno, Monterey, Kern, Stanislaus, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Los Angeles, Sierra, Modoc, Santa Clara, Imperial, Napa, Mendocino, Tehama, Amador, Calaveras, Kings

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.