CRESTED PRICKLYPOPPY--Argemone polyanthemos
Description:  This attractive annual or biennial has a deep taproot and stout, upright, prickly stems 3 feet or more tall.  From June to August this striking beauty presents large, white flowers with golden centers.  Leaves are alternate, thick-textured, and glaucous, clasping the stems, and spiny-toothed on the margins.  This plant is unusual in that it contains a bitter, yellow sap.
Distribution, habitat:  Principal distribution of this native is from eastern Wyoming and southwestern South Dakota to Texas and eastern New Mexico, with scattered occurrence in western Colorado, eastern Montana, and western North Dakota.  It has been introduced and naturalized elsewhere in the country.  Crested pricklypoppy prefers disturbed areas in sandy rangelands but is also present on mesas and foothills where exposed soil exists.
Comments:  Crested pricklypoppy, or intermediate pricklypoppy, is seldom abundant but is highly visible.  This forb is almost never grazed due to its spines.  Ingestion of large amounts of seed by most animals would prove toxic due to alkaloid content.  Birds are known to feed on seeds without ill effects.  The prickles are highly irritating to the skin of some people; sap has been used to remove warts.  Lakota used its yellow sap to dye arrows. Boiled plant water was used for sunburn and poison ivy relief.
	Picture and information can be found on pages 212 and 213 of Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, by James R. Johnson and Gary E. Larson.  Published in 1999 by South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD.