California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) (detail). The unfocused background shows the average color in each direction. Jasper Ridge serpentine grasslands, Road F, July 2, 2008 at 10:25 am. California’s state flower, the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) waves in the spring breeze. I took this photo at Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve on a beautiful March morning. Such a peaceful time, with a field of wildflowers, the poppies starting to open up for the day, the breeze picking up. The unfocused background shows the average color in each direction: blue sky above, yellow, green, and golden poppy-strewn grasslands below.