Plume Poppy

Did you know

• Despite the name, the flowers have no true petals — the airy plumes are clusters of petal-less flowers with showy stamens.
• The large, deeply lobed leaves resemble fig leaves and have silvery-white undersides that flash in the breeze.
• It spreads aggressively by underground rhizomes and can form dense colonies that exclude other plants.
• The stems exude an orange-yellow sap typical of the poppy family, which stains skin and fabric on contact.
• It was named after Alexander Macleay, a 19th-century colonial secretary of New South Wales and keen entomologist.

Color meanings

Uses

• architectural planting
• back of borders
• wild gardens
• screening