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California poppy

American

noun

a plant, Eschscholtzia californica, of the poppy family, having feathery bluish foliage and showy, orange-yellow flowers: the state flower of California.

California poppy British

noun

Also called: eschscholzia. eschscholtzia. a papaveraceous plant, Eschscholtzia californica, of the Pacific coast of North America, having yellow or orange flowers and finely divided bluish-green leaves

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of California poppy

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

California poppy

Times Plants Booth will be giving away hundreds of four-inch plants, plant-inspired stickers and packets of sunflower seeds and California poppy seeds if you sign up for the Plants newsletter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026

In parallel, Werner plans to monitor how key plants, including Gary oak, buckbrush, California poppy, and yarrow, respond to different planting densities on nearly 100 plots.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 18, 2023

In the Bay Area, it was the California poppy.

From New York Times ● May 15, 2023

This feels strange and incorrect, because in California, it is California poppy season.

From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2023

Great beds of orange eschscholtzia, the California poppy, make this court a veritable Field of the Cloth of Gold.

From Palaces and Courts of the Exposition by James, Juliet Helena Lumbard

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023