Glaucium
– Horned Poppy
Hardy Perennial.
Eighteen inches.
Flowers yellow, in July.
A native wild plant, found on sandy seashores.
It grows easily in ordinary garden soil; the leaves
are deeply cut and covered with a white down or
fur; the flowers are yellow and poppy-shaped.
(There is also a comparatively new variety called
G. phoeniceum, with orange flowers.) The distinctive
character of the plant is in the “horn”,
the narrow seed pod which follows the flower,
and grows to a preposterous length, with quaint
curves and twists. The plant is nominally a perennial,
but the best treatment is to sow seed in the open
at the end of March, thin the seedlings severely
(a strong plant will cover several square feet)
and let them flower their first season as if they
were annuals.
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