Flora of New Zealand Series

red horned poppy

Usually annual, rarely biennial, starting as a tufted rosette; stems slender to stout, pubescent, glaucous, sprawling to erect, 10-15 cm tall. Lvs glaucous. Lower lvs elliptic to obovate; lamina 1-(2)-pinnatifid, petiolate, hairy on both surfaces, 5-10 × 3-6 cm; leaflets coarsely toothed. Upper lvs smaller, ovate to triangular, pinnatifid, sessile, amplexicaul, hairy on both surfaces. Pedicel slender at flowering, stout at fruiting, ± glabrous, 1-2 cm long. Sepals pubescent, c. 8 × 3 mm. Petals orange to red, broadly obovate, up to 2 × 2 cm. Capsule hairy throughout its length, ± straight or curved at base, (60)-90-150 × 2-4 mm.

S.: Canterbury (Christchurch and Timaru).

Asia Minor, Mediterranean 1968

Coastal sand, railway ballast; casual, probably introduced as impurity in Australian wheat.