California Poppy Uses and Plant Monograph
Growing up in Northern California, springtime was marked by the sea of purple lupines and golden California poppies that graced both highways and rural hillsides alike. The first flush of California poppies embody the brilliant sunshine of this ecosystem and welcome in the warmth of spring. Since moving out of state, when I see California poppies growing, it brings me a sense of deep comfort and nostalgia — which is funny because as a kid I didn’t really think about these poppies all that much. Sure, I appreciated their beauty, but I didn’t know anything else about them.
It wasn’t until I began formally studying herbalism years later that I learned that California poppy is a powerful medicinal herb that offers many healing gifts beyond its dazzling beauty. Indeed, I have drawn on California poppy many times in recent years for a variety of issues, ranging from insomnia to menstrual cramps and headaches.
Now, before we dive more into California poppy’s healing gifts, let’s talk about its energetics…
California Uses & Plant Profile Summary
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Botanical Name: Eschscholzia californica
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Other Common Names: golden poppy, California sunlight, cup of gold, flame flower, qupe (Chumash name), munkai (Miwok name), herk’werh ‘we-chpega’r (Yurok name)
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Family: Papaveraceae
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Parts Used: whole plant
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Energetics: cooling, drying
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Taste: bitter
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Plant Properties: anodyne, antispasmodic, bitter, emmenagogue, hypnotic, nervine relaxant/sedative
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Plant Uses: insomnia, menstrual cramps, digestive cramping, headaches, spasmodic cough, pain relief for injuries
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Plant Preparations: tincture, tea, glycerite, syrup, oil
Energetics
Though California poppy’s golden blossoms embody the warmth of California sunshine, the plant itself has a cooling and drying effect. We can easily find this out by tasting California poppy: this herb has a bitter taste, and bitters generally indicate that an herb has cooling and drying energetics. If you drink a brew of a particularly bitter herb, you might even notice yourself shiver a little bit or get goosebumps!
Bitter herbs also tend to promote a downward motion of energy. What do I mean by this? Well, bitter herbs can encourage regular bowel movements, promote menstruation, and bring down any heat or tension in the head. California poppy can address all of these ailments, and it’s particularly indicated when there is sharp pain or tension in the body.
Sleep
For as long as I can remember I’ve suffered from insomnia. I was always the last kid to fall asleep at sleepovers, and in my adult life I’ve spent countless hours tossing and turning in bed, counting sheep and hoping for sleep to come soon. While I’ve found no “miracle herb” to completely eliminate insomnia, I have found that California poppy works wonders for helping me wind down when I’m in an insomnia cycle. For insomnia, I like to take California poppy tincture one hour before my bedtime and then once more when I get in bed. This spaced dosing helps prepare my body to gently ease into sleep and let go of anxiety about whether or not I’ll be able to fall asleep.
I’m not the only one who has benefitted from California poppy’s effects: inspired by California poppy’s traditional usage as a sedative, researchers conducted a study in 2019 on the efficacy of California poppy in combination with other medicinal plants, melatonin, and vitamin B6 in the treatment of mild-to-moderate insomnia. The study found that over the course of four weeks, participants reported statistically significant improvements in sleep quality. These improvements included completion in sleep onset latency, total sleep duration, and sleep-related daytime parameters.2
Last year I relayed this information to my aunt who was suffering from insomnia and intense hot flashes that would wake her up in the middle of the night. She found that taking California poppy at night not only helped her sleep but also drastically reduced the frequency of her mid-night hot flashes. I attribute this reduction in hot flashes to California poppy’s cooling and drying nature.
And California poppy is not just for adults suffering from insomnia: it is one of the most effective and gentle herbs for children experiencing insomnia. As herbalist David Hoffman writes, “California poppy [can be] used as a sedative and hypnotic for children, especially in cases of overexcitement and sleeplessness.”3 Since it does have a bitter taste, children tend to prefer California poppy in a glycerite form, which adds some non-stimulating sweetness to the remedy. For children’s sleep blends, I often pair California poppy with chamomile and catnip, which both also help soothe the nervous system and promote restful sleep.
Anxiety
California poppy’s impact on the nervous system goes beyond its sedative effects: in lower doses it can also be used to help reduce anxiety. When my nervous system is feeling overstimulated, I have noticed that taking even a few drops of California poppy can help switch me into a parasympathetic state and let go of racing thoughts. Herbalist Michael Moore found California poppy particularly indicated for anxiety that manifested as jittery nervousness with skin hypersensitivity and restless movement.4
Although California poppy isn’t my first choice for panic attacks, there have been several occasions I’ve used it in dropperful doses out of necessity for friends experiencing panic attacks. And though the effects aren’t as immediate as my go-to herbs for panic, I’ve been able to see how California poppy gently takes the edge off the panic and helps bring the nervous system back down from this heightened state.
Researchers have taken notice of California poppy’s nervine effects, and conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on how a combination of California poppy and hawthorn extract paired with magnesium could treat mild-to-moderate anxiety. Over the course of three months researchers found that this combination of remedies proved safe and more effective than placebo in treating mild-to-moderate anxiety.5
Pain
In addition to supporting the body through insomnia and anxiety, California poppy is most well-known for addressing pain in the body. As an antispasmodic, California poppy eases muscle spasm and relieves tension. And as a cooling herb, California poppy addresses signs of heat: in the case of pain, this can include sharp, throbbing pain, and the affected area may even be hot to the touch. California poppy is particularly indicated for menstrual and digestive cramps as well as headaches and pain from general injury.
The first time I experienced California poppy’s analgesic effects I was living with my dear herbalist friend Lia Leibman and experiencing some of the most intense menstrual cramps of my life. As we sat on the couch together watching a romantic comedy I suddenly began gasping in pain from the sharp twisting spasms my uterus was undergoing. Lia quickly grabbed a bottle of California poppy tincture from her backpack and instructed me to take two droperfulls. I complied between gasps and within fifteen minutes we were back to watching the romcom. I was even comfortably laughing along to the movie with minimal twinges of pain.
The rapid effects of California poppy on my cramps amazed me! I’d used cramp bark and other antispasmodics in the past, but for some reason I’d never thought to use California poppy for cramps. Ever since this moment, I’ve always kept a bottle of California poppy in my fanny pack in case intense cramps strike me or a loved one. When I’m addressing digestive or menstrual cramps, I like to pair California poppy with ginger glycerite to help increase circulation and disperse the tension in the affected area.
Michael Moore found that as an antispasmodic sedative, California poppy can be especially helpful in instances when one experiences pain or other spasmodic conditions (like a spasmodic cough) that make it challenging to fall asleep.6
As Food
In his 2020 book Iwígara: The Kinship of Plants and People, author Enrique Salmón notes that although California poppy is most relied upon as a medicinal herb, its young green leaves can be foraged and enjoyed steamed or boiled.7 The golden flowers can also be used as a dazzling garnish to bring some brightness to salads, desserts, and more.
Constituents
California poppy contains flavonoids as well as many alkaloids, including californidine and pavine. Flavonoids have an overall anti-inflammatory effect in the body. And as Enrique Salmón notes, the bitter alkaloids in California poppy contribute to its analgesic, calming, and sedative effects.8
Botanically Speaking
California poppy is native to California, and its range extends throughout the West Coast and east to New Mexico. So, long before colonizers began to work with California poppy, this herb has been and continues to be an important medicine for Indigenous peoples. To learn more about California poppy’s role in Chumash, Miwok, and Yurok traditions, you can read Enrique Salmón’s book Iwígara.9
Plant Preparations & Harvesting
California poppy can be made into tinctures, glycerites, and teas. The tea, however, is quite bitter, so I recommend taking either a tincture or glycerite. The glycerite is sweet, which makes it particularly well-suited for kids and adults alike who have an aversion to the bitter flavor. I have also occasionally made California poppy into a syrup, especially when working with it to address spasmodic coughs because the honey also soothes the respiratory tract.
Unlike with most root harvests, you want to harvest the whole California poppy plant when it’s in bloom. This is because remedies with California poppy traditionally incorporate the entire plant, including its flowers, to extract all of the plant’s constituents. As with all herbs, make sure you are harvesting California poppy in an area that is free of major contaminants. Since California poppy grows so abundantly along highways and sidewalks, it can be tempting to harvest it from these spaces, but it’s best to harvest in spaces like your garden to avoid ingesting unhealthy chemicals and pollutants.
Dosage Suggestions:
For adults:
- Tincture: 1:5, 25% 1–4 ml 3 times a day
- Tea: 2–4 gram dried herb daily
For children:
For acute instances of insomnia, pain, or cramping, tinctures and glycerites can help support children. Children will often prefer glycerites rather than tinctures due to their sweet taste — since California poppy is so bitter, children rarely tolerate it in tea form. You can administer the tincture or glycerite in 1 oz of water. Here’s the dosage for California poppy glycerite and tincture: children 50–74 pounds can take 10 drops per dose, children 75–99 pounds can take 15 drops per dose, and children 100+ pounds can take 20 drops per dose. When addressing insomnia, you could administer one dose of California poppy about an hour before bedtime and another dose at bedtime if necessary.
Special Considerations
Avoid using California poppy during pregnancy due to its emmenagogue effects. There is little information on use of California poppy during lactation, so avoid use during lactation as well.10 Large doses of California poppy may cause nausea.11 As a sedative, California poppy can add to the effects of other sedatives.12 Since California poppy is a sedative, higher dosages can interfere with everyday activities like driving: so use caution when ingesting California poppy, especially before you have a sense of how much the sedative effects of California poppy may impact you.
Footnotes
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