Yellow-horned poppy is a very rare plant in the North Sea region, growing almost exclusively in the flood mark at the foot of the dunes. It only grows were lots of dead plants are buried in the ground, because yellow-horned poppy needs lots of nutrients to grow. Sometimes, a plant breaks off as it dies and the wind blows it as a tumbleweed into a dip in the dunes where the seeds germinate. However, it takes a year before the first flowers appear. Unless there is a buried flood mark or other plant material in the direct vicinity, the plant will not survive long enough to blossom.