[Illustration: ROSE PRICKLY POPPY]
Annuals or perennials with colored juice; sepals 2-3; petals 4-6, rarely
more or wanting; stamens numerous; carpels 2 or more united; capsules
opening by valves or pores.
Rose Prickly Poppy (_Argemone rosea_) is one of the loveliest flowers of
South Texas. It is very abundant along the Rio Grande, extending into
Mexico and northward almost to San Antonio. The large flowers vary in
color from pale pink to rose and purple-rose and are more cup-shaped
than the white-flowered species. It has gray-green leaves conspicuously
blotched with white along the midribs, the slightly wavy margins being
armed with sharp spines. Like other prickly poppies, the flowers have 6
petals, the 3 outer a little different in shape from the 3 inner, and an
orange-colored sap. Long considered a variety of the western prickly
poppy (_Argemone platyceras_), which has very spiny leaves and stems and
white flowers, it may readily be separated because of its seed-pods,
which are about 2 in. long and decidedly broader above the middle.
_Argemone_ is from the Greek meaning an eye disease, supposedly cured by
the plant. The opium poppy (_Papaver somniferum_) has been widely
planted in gardens, and has escaped in places in the state.
[Illustration: ROUGH-STEMMED PRICKLY POPPY]
Rough-Stemmed or White Prickly Poppy (_Argemone hispida_) is a bushy,
leafy-stemmed plant growing about 2-3 ft. high. It is distinguished from
several other very abundant white-flowered poppies by the fact that it
has rough hairs as well as spines on the stem. The flowers as a rule are
larger, often being 4-6 inches broad. The unusual sepals of the prickly
poppies should be noted, as they sometimes cause the flower buds to be
confused with the fruits. There are usually 3 sepals, which are horned
or hooded, armed with spines, and snugly overlapping each other by a
narrow margin. In the rough-stemmed prickly poppy the horns are large
and triangular in shape. It ranges from Texas to Kansas and California.
Texas Prickly Poppy (_Argemone delicatula_) is not so branched or leafy
and has flowers somewhat smaller, 2½-3 in. broad. The stigmas are purple
instead of red, and the capsules are less than an inch long. This poppy
grows in dry soil in Central Texas. The prickly poppies bloom most
profusely in April, but scattered blooms appear throughout the summer
and fall.
[Illustration: YELLOW PRICKLY POPPY]
Yellow Prickly Poppy. Mexican Poppy (_Argemone mexicana_) is a common
weed in tropical America, extending into Southwest Texas in the vicinity
of Laredo and Del Rio, and has been introduced into many other
countries. It is also called bird-in-the-bush, devil’s fig, flowering or
Jamaica thistle, and Mexican thorn poppy. It has smaller flowers than
the white and rose prickly poppies. It blooms in Texas in March and
April and throughout the summer if the stems are cut. For cut flowers,
the stems should be burned immediately upon gathering; otherwise the
flowers soon wither.
The seeds of the Mexican poppy are valued for the painter’s oil obtained
from them. The oil from the seeds is also said to act as a mild
cathartic, the plant otherwise possessing emetic, anodyne, and narcotic
properties.