Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant flowering in summer, with showy cup-shaped flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. It is also used as food or a garnish. It became the official state flower of California in 1903.
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium during World War I, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime, especially in the UK, US, and Canada.
The Papaveraceae are an economically important family of about 42 genera and approximately 775 known species of flowering plants in the order Ranunculales, informally known as the poppy family. The family is cosmopolitan, occurring in temperate and subtropical climates, but almost unknown in the tropics. Most are herbaceous plants, but a few are shrubs and small trees. The family currently includes two groups that have been considered to be separate families: Fumariaceae and Pteridophyllaceae.
Lamprocapnos spectabilis, bleeding heart, fallopian buds or Asian bleeding-heart, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the fumitory subfamily (fumarioideae) of the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is native to Siberia, northern China, Korea and Japan. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus Lamprocapnos, but is still widely referenced under its old name Dicentra spectabilis. It is valued in gardens and in floristry for its heart-shaped pink and white flowers, borne in spring.
Argemone mexicana is a species of poppy found in Mexico and now widely naturalized in many parts of the world. An extremely hardy pioneer plant, it is tolerant of drought and poor soil, often being the only cover on new road cuttings or verges. It has bright yellow latex. It is poisonous to grazing animals, and it is rarely eaten, but it has been used medicinally by many peoples, including those in its native area, as well as the Natives of the western US, parts of Mexico and many parts of India. In India, during the colorful festival Holika Dahan, adults and children worship by offering flowers, and this species is in its maximum flowering phase during March when the Holi festival is celebrated. It is also referred to as "kateli ka phool” in India.
Epidemic dropsy is a form of edema of extremities due to poisoning by Argemone mexicana.
Taxanes are a class of diterpenes. They were originally identified from plants of the genus Taxus (yews), and feature a taxadiene core. Paclitaxel (Taxol) and docetaxel (Taxotere) are widely used as chemotherapy agents. Cabazitaxel was FDA approved to treat hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
Glaucium flavum, the yellow horned poppy, yellow hornpoppy or sea poppy, is a summer flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is native to Europe, Northern Africa, Macaronesia and temperate zones in Western Asia. The plant grows on the seashore and is never found inland. All parts of the plant, including the seeds, are toxic. It is classed as a noxious weed in some areas of North America, where it is an introduced species. It is grown in gardens as a short-lived perennial but usually grown as a biennial.
Berberine is a quaternary ammonium salt from the protoberberine group of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids found in such plants as Berberis, such as Berberis vulgaris (barberry), Berberis aristata, Mahonia aquifolium, Hydrastis canadensis (goldenseal), Xanthorhiza simplicissima (yellowroot), Phellodendron amurense, Coptis chinensis, Tinospora cordifolia, Argemone mexicana, and Eschscholzia californica. Berberine is usually found in the roots, rhizomes, stems, and bark.
Glaucine is an aporphine alkaloid found in several different plant species in the family Papaveraceae such as Glaucium flavum, Glaucium oxylobum and Corydalis yanhusuo, and in other plants like Croton lechleri in the family Euphorbiaceae.
Pukateine is an alkaloid found in the bark of the New Zealand tree Laurelia novae-zelandiae ("Pukatea"), as well as some South American plants. An extract from pukatea is used in traditional Māori herbal medicine as an analgesic.
Californidine is an alkaloid with the molecular formula C20H20NO4+. It has been isolated from extracts of the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), from which it gets its name, and from other plants of the genus Eschscholzia.
Cryptopine is an opium alkaloid. It is found in plants in the family Papaveraceae, including Argemone mexicana.
Mitragynine pseudoindoxyl is a rearrangement product of 7-hydroxymitragynine. It is an analgesic being more potent than morphine.
Cyclobuxine is an alkaloid, which can be found in Buxus sempervirens better known as common boxwood, and is derived from the cholesterol skeleton. Alkaloids can be found in the whole plant, but the largest amounts of alkaloids including cyclobuxine can be found in the leaves and bark.
Glaucium grandiflorum, the great-flowered horned poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the horned poppy genus which is native to the Middle East.
