Part of the family Papaveraceae, these perennials have poppy-like flowers, typically smaller than Papaver orientale, but in a similar colour range and often with contrasting colours at the base of each petal. Foliage can vary, with some have glaucous hues.
Drought-tolerant and therefore an important part of sustainable gardening, Glaucium species (as with most poppies) lack nectar. However their showy flowers attract pollinators, primarily those that can eat the abundant pollen, such as honeybees, hoverflies and beetles. While their seeds are tiny, they are held attached to the splitting seed pods when the pods fall in the autumn, and are sometimes visited by finches and sparrows.