Wild Poppy (Papaver aculeatum)

Family Papaveraceae

I found some wild poppies growing near Magaliesburg and although I knew they existed, I had not seen them before.

 The stem is very thorny and what leaves they have, mostly grow flat on the ground.

The flower comes in only this orange colour and is much like the ones we have in the garden.

It occurs in grassland and karroid shrubland, often in disturbed places.

 A biographical enigma in being the only member of Papaver indigenous to the southern hemisphere.

 It is also peculiar in that plants may suddenly appear in a particular season, only to vanish without a trace in subsequent years.

Info: Wild Flowers of South Africa (Braam van Wyk)