Amazing Save

This exceptionally red California Poppy amazingly survived the rip-rap rehab job, so far. With soil torn up above it and big new rocks all around it, somehow the little patch of dirt where it grew didn’t get scraped or buried. Did the construction crew see it and deliberately save it?

Flora Friday scientists Jutta Burger found and photographed this strikingly colorful poppy in late March. It’s definitely worth a second look. Note that one of the flowers (above) is intact, while the other (below) has been severely nibbled by bugs.

California poppies vary in color. Orange is the standard, but plain yellow ones are common, and white ones show up here and there. Pink ones are a bit more rare than white. But among the 451 photos of California poppies on the CalPhotos web site, there’s only one that compares in red color intensity with this miraculous survivor in Cesar Chavez Park.