Weed Information: Argemone mexicana (pricklepoppy, Mexican)
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Argemone mexicana (pricklepoppy, Mexican)

Family: Papaveraceae

Description

The leaves clasp the stem at the base. They are waxy and hairless but spiny margined. The flowers are pale to bright yellow and the plant exudes a bright yellow sap.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Corymb
  • Cyme (simple or branched)
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
  • 5 petals
  • 6 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
  • Rounded
  • Square
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
  • 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
  • 5.0 cm (2.0 inches) or more
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • > 5.0 cm (> 2.0 inches)
Number of Sepals
  • 2 sepals
  • 3 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
  • Rounded
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • more than 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 3 carpels
  • 4 carpels
  • 5 carpels
  • 6 - 9 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 3-celled
  • Capsule, > 3-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
  • 3.5 cm (1.4 inches)
  • 4.0 cm (1.6 inches)
  • 4.5 cm (1.8 inches)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
  • 1.5 cm (.60 inch)
  • 2.0 cm (.80 inch)
  • 2.5 cm (1.0 inch)
  • 3.0 cm (1.2 inches)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like
  • Fruit or seed bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
  • Petiole < 25% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.60 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.6 inches)
  • 4 - 10 cm (1.6 - 4.0 inches)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Obovate
  • Pinnately lobed
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Dentate
  • Lobed
  • Undulate (sinuate, repand)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Clasping
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
  • Aristate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Glaucous
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice milky
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines on leaves or stems
  • Spines on flowers\fruits AND leaves\stems
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2 - 4 dm (8.0 - 16.0 inches)
  • 4 - 6 dm (1.3 - 2.0 feet)
  • 6 - 8 dm (2.0 - 2.6 feet)
  • 8 - 10 dm (2.6 - 3.3 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
  • Arid
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Vermont
  • Iowa
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • Ontario
  • Manitoba
Other
  • Puerto Rico
  • Virgin Islands
  • District of Columbia

  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 80
  • More Turfgrass and Related Weeds: Beyond the Color Atlas, 2011 Clemson University Publishing ISBN# 978-0-9798777-5-9 See Page: 301-302
  • S.W.S.S. Weed ID Guide, 1993 Section Number and Five letter code: 11 ARGME
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 226
  • Weeds, A Golden Guide, 1972 ISBN#0-307-24353-2 See page: 58
  • Weeds of the South, University of Georgia 2009, ISBN#0-8203-3046-9 See page: 246
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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