Popular Natives : POPPIES CROWN ANTELOPE VALLEY HILLS WITH GOLD
O flower of flame, with strangest name, Yet most familiar face, How glad and gay thy little ray Illumes each dusty place!
-- Eschscholtzia, by Charles S. Greene, 1881.
When hillsides are blanketed with vibrant orange blossoms in the spring, it’s easy to forget that the same slopes are dry and dusty most of the year. Those adverse conditions and the Antelope Valley’s widely varying weather are what the California poppy thrives upon.
Poppies are specially adapted to high desert life at the western edge of the Mojave, where rainfall is greater and winters are colder than in low-desert habitats. The only reserve in California dedicated to the state flower is 15 miles west of Lancaster, which holds a yearly festival dedicated to the poppy.
The Antelope Valley was chosen for the poppy reserve because it has some of the showiest poppy displays in the state. The hills are ablaze with the most color during springs that follow cool winters with plentiful rain. The last abundant bloom was in 1991, and predictions this year are for an above-average but not spectacular display, with peak bloom in early April. Although rain was plentiful, a lack of cold weather failed to eliminate non-native weeds that compete with poppies for sunlight and water. Reserve officials are unsure how last year’s 15-acre controlled burn to kill off weeds will affect this year’s bloom.
California Poppy
( Eschscholtzia californica )
Blooms when: February to September; poppies at the reserve are usually at peak bloom for only a few weeks to a month in March and April.
Blooms where: On open slopes from Southern California to the Oregon border, but mostly in California.
Description: Single satiny, orange, four-petaled blooms on stems up to two feet long. Eschscholtzias are distinguished from other poppies by a pinkish rim called a torus at the base of the petals.
Poppy Life Cycle
California poppies at the Antelope Valley reserve are annuals. Each year in which seeds germinate, the plant lives, dies and reseeds.
Soil at the reserve consists of coarse, sandy loam, a well-drained soil of decomposing granite. Poppies prefer soil that doesn’t retain moisture because excessive moisture makes roots waterlogged.
WINTER
1. Seed dropped from previous spring germinates, roots push downward and green shoot breaks through surface. Seed leaves called cotyledons sustain plant until “true” leaves appear.
FEW WEEKS TO MONTH LATER
2. When plant reaches three to six inches, a bud appears and grows into capsule of tightly twisted petals. Protective sepals are pushed off as flower untwists and opens.
SPRING
3. Flower is pollinated by insects such as bees and beetles. After five to seven days, petals drop off, while seed capsule continues to develop. Seed capsule remains green as it ripens, while leaves begin to dry as plant’s energy is put into maturing the seeds.
BY MAY
4. Capsule splits open, sometimes audibly, scattering seeds onto ground.
Poppy seeds lie dormant until optimal rain and temperatures occur. Their annual cycle generally begins in late winter.
Why Poppies Close
Early Spanish Californians called the beautiful blooms Dromidera, the drowsy one, because their petals close at night. Triggered by light, poppies close at night and on cloudy days, as protection against cold temperatures and insects.
Poppy Reserve
Dates, hours: Visitor center open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily until May 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.
Fee: $5 per vehicle.
Size: 1,750 acres.
Flower info: Reserve hot line, 805-724-1180; Theodore Payne Foundation wildflower hot line 768-3533; is sponsoring trip to Antelope Valley on April 8, call 768-1802.
Amenities: Eight miles of hiking trails; scheduled nature walks.
California Poppy Festival: April 22 and 23 in Lancaster.
Area Poppy Blooms
* Gorman: Tejon Pass area; Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area.
* Leona Valley: North side of valley, along with a variety of other wildflowers.
* Santa Monica Mountains: Circle X Ranch; Leo Carrillo area, especially Nicholas Flats trail; La Jolla Valley in Point Mugu State Park.
How Poppies Adapt
Poppies are able to adapt to hot, dry summers, as well as winters with uncertain rainfall. Poppy seeds can withstand harsh conditions, including winter freezes and fire. Seeds remain dormant in the soil during years with less rain. Instead of subjecting a plant to drought conditions, a seed will simply not germinate.
Sources: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve; California State Parks, Mojave Desert Sector; California Native Plant Society; National Park Service; Theodore Payne Foundation; “A Flower-Watcher’s Guide to Spring-Blooming Wildflowers of the Antelope Valley”; Eyewitness Books’ “Plant”
Researched by JULIE SHEER / Los Angeles Times
