Scientific Family
Zygophyllaceae
Other common names
orange caltrop
summer poppy
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
Trailing, 1 to 3-1/4 feet
Riparian
No
A sprawling annual with orangish-yellow flowers on trailing or sometimes erect hairy stems. Its blooms are sometimes mistaken for the 4-petaled flowers of the spring-blooming California poppy, which is not related.
Annual, stems hairy and mostly trailing. Leaves opposite, pinnate, smooth or hairy underneath. Flowers orange, solitary on axillary stalks, petals to 2-1/2 inches long. Tiny black seeds are borne in slender beaked fruits, fruit beaks to 1/4 inch long.
Habitat
Desert scrub and grasslands; along roads and sandy washes, flats, slopes, mesas, disturbed areas.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
5000
Flower Characteristics
Flowers are round and flat to somewhat bowl-shaped; 1 to 2-1/2 inches wide with dark reddish orange center; made up of 5 broad fan-shaped petals with dark reddish-orange lines and bases; blossoms on top of long hairy stalks.
Flower color
Orangish-yellow
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
February
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Feather-like, 1-1/2 to 4-1/2 inches long; divided into 5 to 9 pairs of elliptical leaflets.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Body of fruits is knobby and topped with a columnar beak much longer than the body of the fruit.
Fruit type
Other
Fruit color
Brown
Seeds remain viable for at least 3 years and germinate at irregular intervals.