{"id":5775,"date":"2021-11-24T08:48:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T08:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herbalreality.com\/?post_type=herb&p=5775"},"modified":"2025-04-09T16:47:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T15:47:30","slug":"california-poppy","status":"publish","type":"herb","link":"https:\/\/www.herbalreality.com\/herb\/california-poppy\/","title":{"rendered":"California poppy"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":5782,"parent":0,"menu_order":-230,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","beyondwords_generate_audio":"1","beyondwords_project_id":"47224","beyondwords_content_id":"3e992c7f-8132-405f-a812-38e25857ae7c","beyondwords_preview_token":"34bd9fdc-3ae6-43f2-a697-e7073f4e772a","beyondwords_player_content":"","beyondwords_player_style":"","beyondwords_language_code":"","beyondwords_language_id":"","beyondwords_title_voice_id":"","beyondwords_body_voice_id":"","beyondwords_summary_voice_id":"","beyondwords_error_message":"","beyondwords_disabled":"","beyondwords_delete_content":"","beyondwords_podcast_id":"","beyondwords_hash":"","publish_post_to_speechkit":"","speechkit_hash":"","speechkit_generate_audio":"","speechkit_project_id":"","speechkit_podcast_id":"","speechkit_error_message":"","speechkit_disabled":"","speechkit_access_key":"","speechkit_error":"","speechkit_info":"","speechkit_response":"","speechkit_retries":"","speechkit_status":"","speechkit_updated_at":"","_speechkit_link":"","_speechkit_text":""},"tags":[531,50,179,532,106,49],"conditions":[696,694,685,699,702],"sustainability":[1576],"sense":[18,17,16,27],"western_action":[990,997,1001,1003,1018,1019],"chinese_action":[],"ayurvedic_action":[],"energetics_action":[1498,1497,1490,1494,1380],"region":[1893],"class_list":["post-5775","herb","type-herb","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-california-poppy","tag-insomnia","tag-nervous","tag-poppy","tag-sleep","tag-stress","conditions-nervous-system","conditions-cardiovascular-system","conditions-digestive-system","conditions-musculoskeletal-system","conditions-stages-of-life","sustainability-green-sustainability-status","sense-bitter","sense-aromatic","sense-hot","sense-sweet","western_action-analgesic","western_action-antispasmodic","western_action-bitter","western_action-carminatives","western_action-relaxant","western_action-sedative","energetics_action-bitter","energetics_action-pungent","energetics_action-relaxing","energetics_action-sweet","energetics_action-warm","region-western-herbs"],"acf":{"last_reviewed":"20211124","herb_author":null,"banner_text":"California poppy is great at reducing anxiety and tension","latin_name":"Eschscholzia californica<\/em>","pseudonym_name":"","family_name":"Papaveraceae","herb_summary":"\"California poppies... are of a burning colour - not orange, not gold, but if pure gold were liquid and could raise a cream, that golden cream might be like the colour of poppies.\" - John Steinbeck in East of Eden (1952)","key_benefits":"Sedative\r\nAnxiolytic\r\nFor mild to moderate pain","how_does_it_feel":"A preparation of California poppy made by combination of infusion or tincture has a warmly aromatic odour. The initial taste is slightly sweet and warm, then the bitterness comes through from the properties of the alkaloids within.<\/span>","hdif_image_1":5782,"hdif_image_2":6765,"hdif_image_3":5783,"hdif_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/u5dHbMGYfAw","sense":[17,18,16,27],"what_can_i_use_it_for":"\"\"California poppy can ease nervous tension. It is beneficial to helps bring about sleep if taken before bedtime. When one is feeling tired and wired, it can help calm and bring about a state of relaxation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAs a herb that is gifted with antispasmodic nervine actions, California poppy may also \u00a0 be used to ease spasm in the <\/span>digestive system<\/span><\/a> and in the urinary tract. This may be applied in conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and enuresis.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt is also useful to relax the tension of muscular aches. This may be best achieved by a combined approach using a tea made from the fresh flowers and perhaps an accompanying salve to be taken after a hard day\u2019s physical labour. Those with spasmodic conditions associated with the nervous system such as neuralgia and neuropathy will also likely find benefit from using this herb regularly.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCalifornia poppy has a relaxing effect on the <\/span>nervous system<\/span><\/a> which also makes it useful to use during acute bouts of anxiety or to assist during panic attacks. With its gentle nervine relaxant effect, it may also be used for insomnia, restlessness and migraines.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt is non-addictive and safe for all ages, in fact it is especially indicated for children for its gently sedative effects and additionally for colic.<\/span>","into_the_heart_of":"\"\"California poppy has a long tradition of use in Western herbal medicine for calming the nervous system and has been used for states of unrest such as insomnia, nervous agitation and mild to moderate pain. It can be used for any such presentations in children too including over-excitability.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCalifornia poppy is an excellent nervine that is energetically both cooling and relaxing. This combination of properties offers a perfect antidote to a hot and wired system. This herb may be indicted where there is a hyperactive or agitated state in the nervous system. The positive potential of this plant is to enable calmness and centring one through times of acute stress.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThis herb is often used to support in anxiety. It is popular for use in plant medicine for grounding the nervous system where repetitive thoughts or worries plague the mind.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCalifornia poppy may be used for pain that interferes with sleep or for pain in the nerves such as is experienced in sciatica and shingles. This can be applied both topically and internally.<\/span>\r\n\r\nCalifornia poppy is thought to have an affinity to the emotional heart. This is due to its dynamic combination of hypotensive, antispasmodic and nervine actions. It is indicated where stresses and strains link to the nervous system causing symptoms in the heart and vascular system. These may be symptoms such as increased heart rate, mild chest pain and palpitations.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIt can be used to gently relax these tensions, harmonising the mind to bring a sense of calm and serenity to the heart.<\/span>","tradtional_uses":"\"\"California poppy has a long tradition of use in Western herbal medicine for calming the nervous system, being used for states of unrest such as insomnia, nervous agitation and mild to moderate pain. It can be used for any such presentations in children too, including over-excitability.\r\n\r\nIt was used by Native Americans as a food, (the whole plant was cooked and eaten as a vegetable) and as a medicine in various preparations for both children and adults. Tribes from different parts of California used the plant in various ways and for a variety of conditions. The Mendocino used a root preparation applied to a painful tooth, taken for stomach aches or applied as a wash for headaches.\r\n\r\nThe Costanoan tribes used a decoction of the flowers to promote healthy sleep and as a preparation to be rubbed into hair to kill lice.\u00a0 The Chumash made a poultice of the seed pods to halt lactation in breast-feeding.","what_practioners_say":"

\"\"<\/strong>Nervous system<\/h3>\r\nCalifornia poppy is primarily used these days for its effects on this system. It is dose-dependent, so at lower doses it has anxiolytic effects and at larger doses becomes more sedating and analgesic.\r\n

Children\u2019s\u00a0remedy<\/h3>\r\nIt is often prescribed in children as a sleep aid when there is anxiety, pain, over-excitability. Some of the literature suggests it can be helpful for bedwetting.\r\n

Pain<\/h3>\r\nIt is a favoured remedy of many herbalists for the use in minor aches and pains, especially if this is associated with nervous tension. It has a tradition of use headaches and for colicky pains, so can help to ease cramps, spasms and is well-indicated for irritable bowel syndrome.\u00a0 For overworked muscles it can be taken in the form of a strong tea, perhaps whilst relaxing in an Epsom salts bath; both remedies helping to ease the soreness.\r\n

Insomnia<\/h3>\r\nIt is used to a good effect for quietening an overactive mind that keeps one wakeful with inner monologue and also to help with the initiation and maintenance of sleep if disturbed by mild pain.\r\n

In combination<\/h3>\r\nIt is often mixed in with other nervous system relaxants where there can be a synergistic effect. It combines well with passionflower for hyperactivity and sleep disturbances but other combinations work well too, such as a blend with hops and valerian.\r\n\r\nThere are combinations that have been studied which are covered in the Evidence section, including in with another member of the poppy family\u00a0Corydalis cava<\/em>, where the analgesic effects were looked at and studies in combination with valerian (in insomnia) and hawthorn (in anxiety).","research":"\"\"Extracts have been shown to inhibit adrenalin synthesis and enzymatic breakdown of catecholamines in vitro, contributing to the herb\u2019s calming properties.\r\n\r\nIn an\u00a0in vitro\u00a0<\/em>study, a 70% ethanol extract of California poppy was able to bind to serotonin receptors 5-HT(1A) \u2013 these are responsible for neuromodulation, decreasing blood pressure & heart rate by blood vessel dilation and stimulation of the vagus nerve.\u00a0 The activity on the 5-HT(1A) receptor was at least partly due to the presence of the aporphine alkaloidN-methyllaurotetatanine. An extract combination of Californian poppy and Corydalis bound to opioid receptors in vitro which shows promise to explain in part the tradition of use as a pain reliever.\r\n\r\nIn a double-blind randomised controlled trial a combination of California poppy, Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha) and Magnesium was compared to placebo to evaluate safety and efficacy of the combination on mild to moderate anxiety disorders. The Hamilton anxiety scale, somatic scores and change in patient self-assessment showed that anxiety fell during treatment. The combination proved safe and more effective than placebo.\r\n\r\nA more recent prospective 4 week observational study on a combination of Californian poppy and Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) was carried out on adults with insomnia within a GP practice. Sleep efficiency increased with the duration and frequency of night awakenings decreasing and there was a decrease in anxiety.\r\n\r\nOf course, the above combinations don\u2019t distinguish between the herbs within and more studies are needed on Eschscholzia alone. From other research the findings are that the relatively low levels of alkaloids in the aerial parts of the plant mean higher doses are needed for a sedative effect than an anxiolytic effect.","did_you_know":"The opium poppy \u2013\u00a0Papaver somniferum<\/em>\u00a0is renowned for possessing excellent sedative properties. The opioids, (alkaloids within the plant) are utilised by the medical profession in the production of codeine and morphine.\u00a0 As well as the strong sedative quality, morphine is an extremely powerful analgesic which herbalist doctors in Germany are allowed to prescribe. California poppy is a far safer distant cousin. As it contains no morphine it is a non-addictive, safe option and is actually used within programmes of opiate withdrawal.","additional_information_right":{"illustration":8420},"additional_information_left":{"botany":"It has finely pinnated (feathery) blue-green leaves and intense warm yellow-orange solitary 4-petalled flowers, silky in texture & having long stems. The flowers close at night or in cold, windy weather. Slender, cylindrical ribbed seed capsules follow flowering, which split open rather explosively, spreading numerous small globular seeds up to 6 feet away. It is drought-tolerant and spreads well. <\/span>","common_names":"