Stylophorum diphyllum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stylophorum diphyllum

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Papaveraceae
Genus:	Stylophorum
Species:	S. diphyllum

Binomial name

Stylophorum diphyllum
(Michx.) Nutt.

The poppywort (also known as stylophorum, celandine poppy, wood poppy, or yellow poppy) is a member of the poppy family native to eastern North America, with yellow-orange flowers. The flowers are 4 showy sepals that are petal like, with many stamens in the middle. Plants grow about 1.5 feet tall, with pinnatifid shaped leaves. The flowers are produced in umbels that can have one to a few flowers each, the umbels terminate the stems and after blooming a pod like fruit is produced that hangs down under the foliage. When the seeds are ripe in mid summer, the pods split open along four valves. The plants have a yellow-orange sap that can stain hands. Plants are relatively long lived and readily self seed under garden conditions, were they are grown under part shade.