California poppy
Eschscholzia californica
---Flavor Profile and Uses
---Identification
---Harvesting Instructions
- Bitter flavor
- Nonaddictive and safe, a very useful nervine
- Leaves, flowers, and seeds are analgesic and antispasmodic
- Has a calming and sedative effect
- Regularly used as a tea or tincture to reduce anxiety, promote sleep, and ease nervous system tension and hyperactivity
---Identification
- Low spreading, growing up to 1 – 2’
- Leaves are fern-like and blue-green, with finely divided lobes in groups of three
- Foliage grows dense in a mat before it produces long stalks with single flowers
- Flowers are bright yellow with satiny petals and, eventually, long, slender seedpods
- Happiest in a sunny habitat with rocky, moderately fertile, well-drained, nitrogen-rich soil
---Harvesting Instructions
- Classified as an herbaceous perennial but in colder climates it behaves like an annual
- Harvest entire plants on a dry, sunny day when in bloom and hang in bundles upside down in an area protected from the elements with good airflow, checking every couple of days
- For small plants, chop roughly and dry in a single layer on a screen
- Once completely dry, store in an airtight container (preferably with paper or desiccation packets added to absorb moisture and prevent molding over time)
Carpenter, Jeff, and Carpenter, Melanie. The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer. Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015.