Large, crumpled, golden four-petalled flowers over blue-grey, wavy, fleshy leaves on a shingle beach, later followed by slender curved pods up to 30 cm long
Yellow horned-poppy, Glaucium flavum.
Nature · Wildflowers & flowers
Yellow horned-poppy
Native · flowers Jun–Sep · shingle beaches, cliffs and dunes
Glaucium flavum — Papaveraceae
The yellow horned-poppy is a striking, blue-grey plant of shingle beaches whose crumpled golden flowers last barely a day, but whose curved seed pods, the 'horns', grow up to 30 cm long. Its whole body is bloomed with grey wax and its sap is yellow and poisonous. It thrives where little else can live, on loose, dry, salty stones.
How to spot them
- ▸Large, four-petalled, crumpled golden-yellow flowers, like a poppy but bright yellow, dropping within a day or so
- ▸Blue-grey, hairy, deeply lobed, wavy leaves that are thick and fleshy, clasping the stem
- ▸Very long, slender, curved green seed pods, up to about 30 cm, giving the plant its name
- ▸Broken stems ooze a yellow sap that is poisonous
- ▸Look-alike: greater celandine, an inland woodland-edge plant with small yellow flowers and orange sap; welsh poppy, which is green-leaved, hairy, and grows in damp, shady places. This plant is grey-leaved, of the coast, and has far longer pods
How to know it
Snap the stem of this shingle plant and it exudes a yellow sap that is poisonous; the plant contains the alkaloid glaucine
Yellow horned-poppy.
Twite and snow buntings eat the seeds of this coastal plant, which ripen in very long, horn-like pods
Yellow horned-poppy — Wildlife Trusts.
The genus name refers to the blue-grey, waxy, glaucous bloom on its leaves, an adaptation to salt spray and drought
Glaucium — from the Greek glaukos, bluish-grey.
Found on shingle, cliffs and dunes from the Wash in the east to the Solway in the west, mainly around England and Wales
Yellow horned-poppy — Wildlife Trusts.
Not to be confused with a woodland-edge plant that has small yellow flowers and orange latex, this seaside plant has crumpled large flowers and blue-grey leaves
The woodland plant is greater celandine; this is yellow horned-poppy.
Quick-fire facts
- •Native biennial or short-lived perennial of shingle, cliffs and dunes, up to about 50 cm tall
- •Golden flowers appear from June; the horns can reach 30 cm (Wildlife Trusts)
- •Family Papaveraceae, the poppy family, which includes the field, opium and Welsh poppies
- •The sap is yellow and poisonous; the plant contains alkaloids including glaucine, and it should not be eaten
- •Seeds are eaten by small birds, including twite and snow bunting (Wildlife Trusts)
- •Occurs around England and Wales from the Wash in the east to the Solway in the west (Wildlife Trusts)
- •Dry, unstable shingle is its stronghold; Dungeness and Chesil Beach are typical habitats
- •Rated common by the Wildlife Trusts, though coastal development and beach management can destroy colonies
Drill it — 7 cards
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Sources
- The Wildlife Trusts — Yellow horned-poppy
- Royal Horticultural Society — Stone and coast habitats