Dendromecon, the tree poppy, is a genus of one or two species of shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s to small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s, native to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and northern Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

. The leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 are evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

, alternate, lanceolate to ovate, 3-10 cm long. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are yellow, satiny, and shed after pollination

Pollination

Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...

.

Species
Two species of Dendromecon are widely accepted, though some botanists consider them to belong to just one species, only distinct at the lower rank of subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

:

• Dendromecon harfordii
  Dendromecon harfordii
  Dendromecon harfordii is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family known by the common names Channel Islands tree poppy and Harford's tree poppy. It is sometimes treated as subspecies harfordii of its relative, Dendromecon rigida. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California. This is a...
  
  (syn. D. rigida subsp. harfordii) - Channel Island Tree Poppy. A larger plant, occasionally becoming a small tree to 6 m tall; leaves broad, less than three times as long as broad. Endemic
  Endemic (ecology)
  Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
  
   to the Channel Islands of California
  Channel Islands of California
  The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America...
  
  .
• Dendromecon rigida
  Dendromecon rigida
  Dendromecon rigida, also called bush poppy or tree poppy, is a shrub or small tree of the Papaveraceae native to California and Baja California.-Description:...
  
  - Bush Poppy. A smaller plant, rarely exceeding 3 m tall; leaves narrow, more than three times as long as broad. Occurring on mainland California (Pacific Coast Ranges
  Pacific Coast Ranges
  The Pacific Coast Ranges and the Pacific Mountain System are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico...
  
   and Sierra Nevada foothills) and northern Baja California.