| a European plant, Glaucium flavum, of the poppy family, having yellow flowers, naturalized along sandy shores in eastern North America. |
horned poppy
any of approximately 25 species of plants that constitute the genus Glaucium of the poppy family (Papaveraceae). All species are weedy garden plants native to Eurasia. The yellow horned poppy (G. flavum) is native to sea beaches of Great Britain and southern Europe and has become established in the eastern United States. Its slender seed pods are 30 cm (one foot) long. The 5-centimetre-long, four-petaled, yellow to orange blooms are borne on 30- to 90-centimetre- (12- to 35-inch-) tall plants with yellow latex and hairy, lobed, fleshy, blue-green leaves. The red horned poppy (G. corniculatum) from continental Europe is smaller and has crimson blooms often with black spots at the petal bases. The common name refers to the small horn-shaped stigma atop the elongate fruit. Horned poppies have been used to anchor beach sand and in beach gardens.
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