Eschscholtzia californica  Desert Poppy
EPHEMERAL ANNUAL.  The shining golden, orange-centered flowers are a familiar sight in March and April after wet winters.  Leaves bluish green, smooth, deeply dissected.  Pods long, thin, erect.  Corydalis aurea has similar leaves but very different flowers.  In the Empires, less common than in the lower desert.  Scattered in washes, roadsides, gravel flats, etc.
FAMILY:  Papaveraceae  (Poppy Family)