About Argemone munita Durand & Hilg.
Argemone munita is a species of prickly poppy, commonly called flatbud prickly poppy and chicalote. Its scientific epithet "munita" means "armed", referring to the many long prickles covering the plant. This species is native to California, where it is widespread across the western part of the state and its eastern deserts. It grows on slopes up to 10,000 feet, and along roadsides. Its native range also extends into Baja California, Arizona, and Nevada. The poppy produces flowers on erect, spiny stems that can grow more than one meter in height. Its sap is yellow. Its blue-green or mint-green, lobed leaves are also very prickly. The white blooms usually have six crinkly petals, each up to 4 centimeters long, along with three sepals. A dense ring of up to 250 small yellow or orange pollen-bearing stamens surrounds the center of the flower. The flowers are often compared to sunny-side-up eggs, with the dark central pistil resembling a dot of pepper. The fruits are spiny white capsules 3 to 5 centimeters long, each holding many small seeds. The leaves and seeds of this plant contain alkaloids which are probably toxic.
