These California Poppies....

........have shown their pretty little faces again this year - they must be very resilient as the area where they are is very overgrown! (My poor little garden has not had the attention it usually gets this year!) - so I am delighted to see them again - long may they continue to appear! I love the feathery leaves.

Nicer on large - click lower case L on your keyboard.

I think the seed was in a packet that Anni brought back from her visit to Alaska! - though I feel it must be a bit too cold for them to grow there!!

My BOUI are, of course, related to these flowers:-

1) California poppy leaves were used medicinally by Native Americans, and the pollen was used cosmetically. The seeds are used in cooking.

2) An aqueous extract of the plant has sedative and anxiolytic action. The extract acts as a mild sedative when smoked. The effect is far milder than that of opium. California poppy contains a different class of alkaloids.

3) In Chile, it was introduced from multiple sources between the mid-19th century and the early 20th century. It appears to have been both intentionally imported as an ornamental garden plant, and accidentally introduced along with alfalfa seed grown in California. Since Chile and California have similar climatic regions and have experienced much agricultural exchange, it is perhaps not surprising that it was introduced to Chile.

4) Because of its beauty and ease of growing, the California poppy was introduced into several regions with similar Mediterranean climates. It is commercially sold and widely naturalized in Australia, and was introduced to South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. It is recognized as a potentially invasive species within the United States.

5) As the official state flower of California Eschscholzia californica is pictured on welcome signs along highways entering California. It was selected as the state flower by the California State Floral Society in December 1890, winning out over the Mariposa lily (genus Calochortus) and the Matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri) by a landslide, but the state legislature did not make the selection official until 1903. Its golden blooms were deemed a fitting symbol for the Golden State. April 6 is designated California Poppy Day - Anni's Birthday!
More info ......

Another lovely morning so far - bright sunshine and big white clouds - though rain is forecast for later in the day!
Sometimes our village seems to have a climate of it's own - it can be beautiful here and there can be torrential rain 10 miles away - it isn't often the other way round!

Another weekend is nearly here - enjoy it!