Argemone gracilenta, Sonoran Pricklypoppy
Scientific Name: Argemone gracilenta
Common Name: Sonoran Pricklypoppy
Also Called: Prickly Poppy, Sonoran Prickly Poppy (Spanish: Cardo, Chicalote)
Family: Papaveraceae or Poppy Family
Synonyms: (Argemone intermedia)
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial.
Size: Up to 3 feet or more.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; moderately prickly.
Leaves: Green; prickly on main vein, adaxial with few prickles, basal leaves variable, shallowly or deeply lobed the distal ends do not clasp.
Flower Color: White to cream; buds subglobose to oblong, sepal horns slender, unarmed or 1 or 2 prickles near the base, flowers large, up to 3.5 inches wide, showy, filaments pale yellow, fruit a capsule, scattered-prickly
Flowering Season:
Spring.
Elevation:
1,500 to 5,000 feet.
Habitat Preferences: Sandy, gravelly soils, slopes and washes and out wash plains.
Recorded Range: Argemone gracilenta is rare in the United States. It is only found in the western 2⁄3 of the state, primarily in the central and southwestern parts of the state.
Sonoran Pricklypoppy is also found in Baja California and Sonora Mexico.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Argemone gracilenta .
U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.
The Plant List includes 32 accepted species world-wide for the genus Argemone.
Comments: Sonoran Pricklypoppy is difficult to identify correctly in the field from other closely related species similar in appearance.
In Southwestern Desert Flora also see, Southwestern Pricklypoppy, Argemone pleiacantha.