Argemone mexicana L.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Papaveraceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Erect herb, 30-60 cm tall, with a woody taproot; latex yellow-ish; stems glaucous, sparsely spiny. Leaf blades 7-25 x 2-10cm, deeply sinuate to dissected, chartaceous, glaucous underneath sparsely spiny on both surfaces, the venation whitish, the apex obtuse to acute, the base cuneate or attenuate, the margins sparsely spiny; petioles 8-10 mm long on basal leaves, the upper leaves sessile. Flowers solitary in leaf axils, sessile or nearly so, subtended by a pair of foliaceous, spiny bracts; peduncle to 3.5 cm long. Sepals free to base, ovate, green, 1.8-2.2 cm long, horned at apex, early deciduous; petals yellow, broadly obovate, 2-3 cm long; stamens numerous, the filaments yellow, 7-8 mm long, the anthers lanceolate, recurved; ovary ovoid, with soft, ascending spines, green, the stigma capitate, 5-lobed, reddish. Capsule nearly cylindrical, slightly lobed, 2.7-4 cm long, turning from green to straw-colored, dehiscing from the apex. Seeds numerous, nearly elliptic, dark brown to blackish, ornamented, ca. 2 mm long.
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Discussion
Common names: Mexican poppy, thistleroot, yellow-thistle
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Distribution
A common weed of open disturbed areas. Long Bay (A672). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; widespread weed throughout the tropics.
Tortola Virgin Islands South America| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America|