Bush poppy is an erect, slender-stemmed perennial shrub to 10' tall often found as a pioneer or colonizing burned areas of chaparral. It has alternate, lanceolate to lance-oblong, coriaceous leaves to 4' long on short petioles. The showy blooms have four obovate or wedge-shaped bright yellow petals and two sepals that fall off early. There are many stamens and a pistil with two stigmas. The fruit is a 2-4' linear, arc-shaped capsule with many smooth brown or black seeds. Bush poppy is a common shrub on dry slopes and stony washes to about 5000' in cismontane southern to central California, blooming from April to July.
