This attractive annual is in full flower in the Glasshouse Bays.
Argemone mexicana (Mexican prickly poppy, or devil’s fig) is a native of the southern United States and Central America, where it grows in poor, disturbed soils in full sun. It is one of 33 species of annuals and perennials from the southern United States, Central America and the West Indies. Reaching up to 1m in height it has deeply lobed, blue-green leaves with white veining, and prickles beneath the leaves and at the leaf tips. Solitary, poppy-like flowers are borne throughout summer, and vary in colour from soft yellow to deep yellow. The Mexican prickly poppy has long been used for medicinal purposes. Dioscoridis adopted the name Argemone for a plant he used in the treatment of cataracts, and it has been used in the treatment for a wide range of conditions including tumors, skin disease, inflammation, rheumatism and malaria. It is high in alkaloids and toxic if ingested to humans and grazing cattle.