Eschscholzia californica Cham., Papaveraceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  yes

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hua ling cao

English: California goldenpoppy, California poppy

French: eschscholtzie de Californie, globe du soleil

Spanish: amapola de California, dedal de oro

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Glaucous, subglabrous annual or perennial herbs; stems erect or ascending, sprawling with age, 2-6 dm long, branched.  Leaves ca. 3-12 cm long, the lobes linear-elliptic, 1-3 mm wide.  Peduncles 3-15 cm long; receptacle with 2 rings, outer one spreading, 2-4 mm wide, inner one erect and hyaline; calyptra 1-4 cm long; petals dark orange to yellow, broadly obovate, 2-6 cm long.  Capsules cylindrical, tapering to apex, 3-8 (-10) cm long.  Seeds grayish brown, 1.2-1.5 mm long, reticulate"  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1006-1007).

"Plants perennial or annual, caulescent, erect or spreading, 5-60 cm, glabrous, sometimes glaucous; taproot heavy in perennial forms. Leaves basal and cauline; blade with ultimate lobes obtuse or acute. Inflorescences cymose or 1-flowered; buds erect. Flowers: receptacle obconic, cup with spreading free rim; calyx acute to acuminate, glabrous, sometimes glaucous; petals yellow to orange, usually with orange spot at base, 20-60 mm. Capsules 3-9 cm. Seeds brown to black, spheric to ellipsoid, 1.5-1.8 mm, reticulate" (Flora of North America).

Description from Flora of China online.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "cultivated, now naturalized and currently spreading...at 2,270 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1007).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Western North America (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1007).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (pp. 482, 528-529, 553) Voucher cited: Danton I(5/153)1433. "En RC, aparece en el pueblo de San Juan Bautista cada año por donde quiere, por aqui y por allá".
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1006-1007)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (pp. 1006-1007) Voucher cited: Fosberg 48375 (US)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 113) Voucher cited: MacKee 40076

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 85)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias (1988) (p. 85)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Widely introduced as a courtyard ornamental
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 183)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 929) "Dry stony sites, especially on roadsides and dry riverbeds".
United States (west coast) United States (west coast states)	USA (California)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Control: 

Physical:  "Pull out small patches (spring-summer).  Where appropriate plant local native plants to shade out seedlings"  (Weedbusters New Zealand).

Additional information:
Information sheet from Weedbusters New Zealand.

Additional online information about Eschscholzia californica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Eschscholzia californica as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Eschscholzia californica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 2011. Flora of North America North of Mexico (online edition).

Hafliger, Toni J./Wolf, Matthias. 1988. Dicot weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 335 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).