Argemone mexicana, also known by the common names Mexican poppy, Mexican prickly poppy, flowering thistle, cardo, and cardosanto, is a species of poppy found in Mexico and now widely naturalized in many parts of the world. An extremely hardy pioneer plant, it is tolerant of drought and poor soil, often being the only cover on new road cuttings or verges. It has bright yellow latex. It is poisonous to grazing animals, and it is rarely eaten, but it has been used medicinally by many peoples, including those in its native area, as well as the indigenous peoples of the western United States, parts of Mexico, and many parts of India.
From Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is it poisonous?
Considered toxic. Public sources list it as such; we have not verified this individually. A. mexicana seeds contain 22–36% of a pale yellow, non-edible oil called argemone oil or katkar oil, which contains the toxic alkaloids sanguinarine and dihydrosanguinarine. Poisoning by katkar oil causes epidemic… Never eat, touch or handle a wild plant, mushroom or animal on the strength of an identification; ask someone qualified.
Easily confused with
Classification
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Ranunculales
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Genus
- Argemone
- Species
- Argemone mexicana
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