An erect, glaucous perennial herb 0.7-1.5 m tall with bright yellow sap; stems are somewhat woody at the base, with suberect branches moderately to densely covered by stiff, sharp yellow prickles. Leaves are glaucous green, sessile, oblong-elliptic, about 8-21 cm long, 6-11 cm wide, deeply pinnately lobed about 1/4 to 1/2 way to midrib, both surfaces usually bearing sharp prickles on the veins and margins, the margins irregularly sinuate-dentate. Flowers buds oblong, 1.6-2.4 cm long, smooth or prickly, the sepals with subterete horns 3-5(-7) mm long; petals 6, white, broadly obovate, 3-5.5 cm long; stames about 70-80, filaments pale yellow; ovary 3-6-carpellate; stigma purple. Capsules ovoid to lanceolaoid, 3-6 cm long, sparsely to densely covered with sharp prickles 2-6 mm long. Seeds numerous, dull blackish brown, subglobose, 2-2.5 mm in diameter.
Loss of habitat is a threat to this and many other native Hawaiian plant species.
Early Hawaiians used the seeds and sap of the stalk as a narcotic and analgesic for toothaches, neuralgia, and ulcers. The sap was used to treat warts [Wagner et al. 1990].
Scattered to locally common in coastal dry forest and subalpine forest from sea level to 1900 m on the leeward sides of all the main islands except Kaua`i. Two varieties of Argemone glauca are recornized: var. decipiens with densely prickley capsules, restricted to the saddle area of Hawaii Island, and var. glauca with less densely prickly capsules, on all the islands except Kaua`i [Wagner et al. 1990].
We currently have 11 herbarium specimens for Argemone glauca in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
