A Sublime & Beautiful Sunday: The Blazing California Poppy

California Golden Poppies are blooming in nearby fields by my house!

The California Golden Poppy is the State Flower of California. It grows wild all over the hills and plains of California, as it is all over my town.

The Golden Poppy bloom on plants with fern-like leaves and silvery-green foliage about a foot high. The flowers are 2 to 3-inch cups of gold with four wide fan-shaped petals and many stamens.

To show how dramatically beautiful the Golden Poppy is, below are four photos of areas in the Antelope Valley Reserve in California. Photo Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos.

The Golden Poppies set the rolling hills
ablaze with its golden blooms!

Click on the photo to enlarge.

Here are some facts about the Califronia Golden Poppy.^[3]

Golden Poppy bloom in open areas, grassy or sandy slopes.

California Indians cherished the Golden Poppy as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant.

The milky sap of Golden Poppy's unripe seed pods is the source of opium and several other similar drugs, e.g., morphine, codeine, and heroin.

Golden Poppy seed, also called maw seed, is not narcotic and is used as birdseed and for a flavoring or garnish in baking.

Golden Poppy seed is also ground for flour.

Poppy oil, derived from the Golden Poppy seeds, is employed in cooking and illumination and in paints, varnishes, and soaps.

The Golden Poppy has been the symbol of the dead and of sleep since antiquity.

The California Poppy is celebrated annually during Spring.^[4]

The California Poppy Festival is an annual spring celebration of the California State Flower. When nature has cooperated you can see massive fields of orange poppies delighting guests at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve and around Lancaster, California. The festival goes on, regardless of the number of poppies each season. The festival's highlights include musical entertainment, food and crafts vendors, games, demos, an awesome art show and changing displays and themed areas.

Sources of Information:

[1] California Department Parks and Recreation

[2] Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

[3] The Flower Expert

[4] California Poppy Festival

^{All photos and gifs in this article are by @silversaver888 unless indicated.}

♥.•:¨¨:•.♥.•::•.♥.•:¨¨*:•.♥

This post is for two of the most popular challenges: Beautiful Sunday hosted by @ace108, and Sublime Sunday by @c0ff33a.