California Creamcup

Beauty in a small package: California Creamcup , has a one inch wide flower with six petals which may be pure white or golden or white with large gold spots or gold tips. The center of the flower is filled with a tuftlike cluster of many thick, flattened stamens. The small plant (12×18 inches) may produce hundreds of blossoms. The fruit is a capsule with several one-seeded sections that break apart.

Platystemon californicus, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Platystemon is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the poppy family containing the single species Platystemon californicus. The plant is hairy in texture, sometimes with very long hairs. The inflorescence is a single flower on a tall stem up to 20 centimeters high.

I am growing it in a shallow (4 inch deep), 15 inch wide bowl.

Color: Yellow and white, or cream

Common name: Cream Cups

Latin name: Platystemon californicus

Family: PAPAVERACEAE

Width and Height: 12 by 18 inches

 

Leaf: The oppositely arranged leaves are 2-8 cm long, and in shape linear, lanceolate, or oblong.

Range: w Desert, California Floristic Province

Native Habitat: Open grasslands, sandy soils, burns

Elevation: < 1000 m.

Flowering time: Mar–May

nursery: Annie’s Annual

nursery: Yamagami of Cupertino

first planted: 2017

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