Poppy

Poppy (Papaver somniferum)- USDA Zones-7. It is an annual plant growing upto the height of 2 to 3 feets, few are perennials and biennials also. Widely found in Europe and Asia and sometimes in Britain. The plant is widely grown in warm temperate and tropical climates for the substance contained in its sap. This plant contains a toxic substance which are extracted and used as pian killers and if these are taken in excess they can cause severe health porblems and all poppies of the species Papaver somniferum are capable of producing morphine. Plant has a smooth texture with slightly branched stem. Leaves are erect, large, numerous, ovate to oblong in shape, have dentate or serrate margins and clapses at the base.

Flowers grow on a long peduncle with buds which later expands into erect flowers. Petals are four to eight in number, white to purplish in color sometimes the color may range from pink to red. Sepals are glabrous. Flowering takes place from July to August. Flowers are hermaphrodite both having male and female sexual organs making the plant self fertile and are usually pollinated by Bees. Fruit is a capsule.

Poppy Growing Conditions

The plant prefers full sunlight at least of 6 hours, it does not grow in shady places. It needs light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils and it should have well draining property so that it can retain moisture. The plant can grow well in all kinds of soil ph that is the soil can be acidic, neutral, or basic. Poppy is reported to tolerate annual precipitation of 3.1 to 17.3 dm and annual temperature of 5.6 to 23 degree centigrade.

Poppy Care & Cultivation

Since Poppy plant actively adapts itself to different soil and climates so its different varieties need different conditions to grow. The sowing time begins in September and continues till late April. Plants should be regularly watered and 30 to 40 tonnes of manure should be added per hectare, fortnightly. Germination lasts two to three weeks and after a month leaves start appearing and then again after two to three weeks stem emerges and within two months the plant reaches upto its full growth. The plant flowers day by day and the flowering lasts upto thirty to fourty hours. After the petals fall the capsule continues to grow and becomes ripe in about two weeks.

• For better yield system of rotation of crops must be followed.
• It cannot tolerate extreme cold so controled temperature must be provided.
• Care should be taken that the ideal conditions are snow in winter, rain in spring and dry weather while the plant is mature.
• It cannot be cultivated in a frosty climate.

Poppy Uses

• Seeds are used for edible puposes in cakes breads etc.
• Its young leaves are eaten raw or cooked.
• A high quality edible drying oil is obtained from the seed.
• It is a good Antispasmodic, Antitussive, Astringent, Narcotic, Sedative.
• It is a good pain reliever but if used in excess it can be very injurious to health.
• A homeopathic remedy is made from the dried latex.
• The seed yields 44 - 50% of an edible drying oil

Poppy Pictures

Argemone albiflora Hornem. - bluestem pricklypoppy

Argemone albiflora Hornem. - bluestem pricklypoppy

Argemone albiflora Hornem. ssp. texana G.B. Ownbey - bluestem pricklypoppy

Argemone corymbosa Greene - Mojave pricklypoppy

Argemone corymbosa Greene - Mojave pricklypoppy

Argemone mexicana L. - Mexican pricklypoppy

Related Flowers

Alpine Poppy

Alpine Poppy (Papaver Alpinum) - A plant of dwarf habit from the limestone rocks of the Alps, about 6 inches high, with finely cut grey-green leaves and large white flowers of silky texture, yellow at the centre, with sometimes a green spot at the base of each petal. When in good condition, from May to September, this little plant is charming, but it is apt to perish, unlike a true perennial, especially if disturbed. It does best in the rock garden, in rather poor soil, with good drainage and full sunlight, and will thrive in walls and rocky clefts; it will sometimes "sow itself," coming easily from seed. It varies much in color, with scarlet, pale rose, and yellow forms, and one in which the petals are fringed.

Iceland Poppy

Iceland Poppy (Papaver Nudicaule) - A dwarf robust kind, with leaves deeply lobed, and large rich yellow flowers on stems of 12 to 15 inches. It thrives in rich light soils, and is useful for cutting, if young flowers are gathered early in the day. Though a perennial, it is a short-lived one, and worth little after its second season. Coming readily from seed and blooming in its first year, it is more often grown as an annual, flowering from May to October if kept from seeding. The flowers give many pretty shades, from orange to pale red, yellow, and white, the petals with a satin sheen and crumpled.

Papaver Orientale

Papaver Orientale - The most showy of Poppies, and among the noblest of hardy plants, being robust, long-lived, with stout hairy leaves and stems, and of easy increase by seeds or division. A fine distinct form of P. orientale is P. bracteatum, and the two have been freely crossed with good results. Bracteatum is the better plant, rising with masses of luxuriant foliage and huge blood-red flowers with bold dark blotches, 6 to 9 inches across, and carried on stout stems with blooms set among large leafy bracts, the flowers coming a little earlier and lasting longer. Other forms are concolor, an unspotted variety; and triumphans, of dwarf habit. The named garden hybrids in red, orange, salmon, pale pink, purple, and maroon, with many intermediate shades, are useful for bold effects.

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