Overview of crested prickly poppy (a.k.a. scatter-spined prickly poppy) Argemone polyanthemos. Like other species in this genus, A. polyanthemos produces yellow sap and much of the plant is covered with spines. It produces strong alkaloids, which discourage most wildlife, but Steve West (Northern Chihuahuan Dsert Wildflowers) reports that doves feed on the seeds with no apparent affect. Photographed at Aguirre Springs Campground, May 8, 2005.