BUSH POPPY

also called Tree Poppy (Dendromecon rigida), yellow flowering bush or small tree of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native to chaparral areas of southern California and northwestern Mexico. The bush poppy ranges from 0.5 to 3 m (about 2 to 10 feet) in height and displays deep, butter-yellow, four-petaled blooms measuring 4 to 5 cm (1.5 to 2 inches) across. The plant's narrow, 2.510-centimetre, gray-green, waxy leaves are evergreen, and the bark is shreddy and yellow-gray. The variety known as island tree poppy (D. rigida harfordii), from islands off the southern California coast, reaches a height of 6 m. Bush poppies are hardy as ornamentals only in areas with mild winters.