POPPY

any of several ornamental flowering plants of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), especially species of the Papaver genus, which have lobed or dissected leaves, milky sap, nodding buds on solitary stalks, and four- to six-petaled flowers with numerous stamens surrounding the ovary. The two sepals drop off as the petals unfold. The ovary develops into a short, many-seeded capsule that opens in dry weather, permitting the small seed to escape when it is shaken by the wind. Opium, from which morphine, heroin, codeine, and papaverine are derived, comes from the milky fluid in the unripe seed capsule of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), which is native to Turkey. An annual plant, it bears 12.7-centimetre- (5-inch-) wide blue-purple or white flowers on plants 1 to 5 m (about 3 to 16 feet) tall, with lobed or toothed silver-green foliage. The opium poppy also is grown for its nonnarcotic ripe seeds, which are used for seasoning, oil, and birdseed. Red-flowered and double and semidouble strains are garden ornamentals. About 50 other species of Papaver are grown for their attractive papery flowers or interestingly cut foliage. The Oriental poppy (P. orientale), native to the Middle East, has 15.2-centimetre scarlet, salmon, pink, white, or red blooms on 1.2-metre-tall, long-lived perennial plants. The white and red or white and pink Shirley poppy is an annual variety developed from the corn poppy (P. rhoeas). The long-headed poppy (P. dubium) is an annual similar to the corn poppy but with narrower, tapering capsules and smaller, paler flowers. The Iceland poppy (P. nudicaule), from Arctic North America, is a short-lived perennial with fragrant white, orange, reddish, or bicoloured 7.6-centimetre flowers that are 30 cm tall. The peacock poppy (P. pavoninum), an annual with dark-spotted, scarlet, 2.5-centimetre blooms on 30-centimetre-tall plants, is from Afghanistan. The poppy family is well represented in western North America, especially in California, where about 20 native species are found. The best known of these is the California poppy (Eschscholtzia californica), an annual with brilliant orange-coloured flowers, extensively naturalized in California, Australia, and India. Other ornamental members of the poppy family include the matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri), with 15.2-centimetre, white, fragrant flowers on a 2.4-metre-tall perennial herbaceous plant, native to southwestern North America; the plume poppies, members of the Oriental genus Macleaya, grown for their giant, interestingly lobed leaves and 2-metre-tall flower spikes; plants of the genus Bocconia, woody, mild-climate shrubs, native to tropical America, prized for their large, cut leaves; the snow poppy (Eomecon chionantha), a perennial from China, with white, cuplike flowers in sprays; and the flaming poppy (Stylomecon heterophylla), a purple-centred, brick-red annual plant from western North America. The genus Meconopsis (q.v.) includes the Welsh poppy.