prickly poppy

American  

noun

1. any tropical American poppy of the genus Argemone, especially A. mexicana Mexican poppy, having prickly pods and leaves and yellow or white, poppylike flowers.

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prickly poppy British  

noun

1. an annual papaveraceous plant, Argemone mexicana, of tropical America, having prickly stems and leaves and large yellow or white flowers

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Etymology

Origin of prickly poppy

First recorded in 1715–25

Example Sentences

One morning she had me traipsing out at the crack of dawn for prickly poppy, toadflax, spiderwort, and skeleton weed.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Having crawled through a bramble bush for the prickly poppy, I was feeling a bit prickly myself just then.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

I’d already found the skeleton weed, spiderwort, and toadflax right where she’d said, but the prickly poppy was nowhere to be found.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

The prickly poppy had white petals with orange and red in the middle.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Even they, dead and inhospitable as they appeared at a little distance, afforded nourishment for cactus and painter's-brush, prickly poppy and hardy vetches.

From Peak and Prairie From a Colorado Sketch-book by Moore, Emma G.