How to Grow and Care for Prickly poppies

White prickly poppy (Argemone albiflora) is a deciduous annual plant that can grow to be 30 to 91 cm tall. It is a single flowering plant with a cupped white flower growing at the top of its prickly stem. This species blooms from spring to summer. Its nectar attracts bees. White prickly poppy is toxic to humans.

Argemone mexicana has been naturalized in many parts of the world. It is extremely tolerant of drought and poor soil, but is poisonous to grazing animals. Its seed pods secrete a pale yellow latex when cut open. In India, the mexican prickly poppy is used in the Holika Dahan festival, in which adults and children worship by offering flowers.

Chicalote (Argemone munita) is a perennial wildflower that will grow to 91 cm tall. The name Argemone munita means armed which is indicative of its prickly spikes. Foliage is a mint green color. It blooms in summer with delicate white flowers with an array of bright yellow stamen.

It is a herbaceous plant that reaches a size of up to 1 m in height, with blue-whitish, thorny stems; when it is cut, a milky yellow juice emerges. The leaves have divisions with teeth and a spine on the tip; its flowers are yellow, cream or white, lonely and large, they look like paper.

The prickly poppy is native to the Americas and Hawaii. It is scientifically known as Argemone polyanthemos and gets its common name from its prickly leaves. Animals avoid it because of its prickly parts and acrid taste.