Occasional in Guernsey, frquent in Alderney but rare in Herm, the Yellow Horned-poppy , Glaucium flavum, is a native coastal plant. It is not recorded on Sark, probably becuase it does not have suitable habitat. It used to be found on most shingle areas along the north and west coasts but is now far more localised. I have found it at Grandes Rocques and on the shingle bank next to the coastal path at Hougue Patris, east of Fort Le Marchant. The bright yellow flowers are conspicuous around midsummer, they soon give way to the seed pods which give their name to the plant, long, curved structures that can reach a length of 30cm. One is visible in the top photo, just starting to develop.
All parts of the plants are poisonous: it is reported that the sap causes warts. Marquand states that it was named Ficus infernalis (Devil’s Fig) from the Middle Ages, and was ‘credited with mysterious properties, commonly used by witches in their incantations’.
Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey 