Stylophorum diphyllum – Wood Poppy

One of the showiest of our woodland wildflowers, this plant brightens the landscape with 2″ yellow flowers that combine beautifully with Virginia Bluebells, Wild Blue Phlox, Meehan’s Mint, Bloodroot, Foamflower and Trilliums. If conditions are moist enough it will continue flowering into early summer. It’s a prolific seed producer that will naturalize in a woodland garden – the seeds have a fat-rich structure called the elaiosome – ants collect the seed for food and in the process sow the seed and spread the plant around. Don’t confuse with False Celandine, a coarse Eurasian biennial weed with smaller flowers.