Mexican Prickly Poppy

The Mexican Prickly Poppy is a wildflower and a weed that lives up to its name. Its home base seems to be arid lands of Mexico and neighboring areas; it has spines reminiscent of thistles; and it is a true poppy with a brilliant yellow flower with dark red reproductive structures at its center. It can be a foot-tall touch of beauty in our backyards and a three-foot scourge in pastures and agriculture fields. As with other poppies, the Mexican Prickly Poppy produces chemicals long used as treatments for human ailments and some used commercially in making soap.