Illegal drug, household baking item, or common medicine?
Actually, Papaver somniferum is all the above!
USES
P. somniferum is a widely cultivated plant from which
opiates like the illegal narcotic drug heroin stems.
Pain-killers derived from the opium poppy such as codeine and
morphine are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry.
The seeds of this plant are widely sought after for use in
bagels, cakes, muffins, or pressed to form poppyseed oil for
cooking. The poppy plant itself is valuable for ornamental
purposes.
MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES
The poppy is an erect, annual plant generally standing up to
three feet tall (sometimes more). It is usually
unbranched, hairless, and has bluish-green fleshy leaves.
The bowl-shaped flowers with broad, rounded, overlapping petals
are also erect, growing typically 2-5in. in diameter when found
in the wild or up to 7in. when cultivated. The smooth,
latex-containing fruit capsule can get up to 4in. in diameter
and is usually oblong with 5-12 or more rays on a lobed
stigmatic disk.
VARIETY
Within the species Papaver somniferum, there
are many subspecies. Appearances can vary including petal
colors ranging from red, pink, and orange to purple, blue, and
white. Height, size of fruit-capsule, leaves, and
flowering types also are extremely variable within the P.
somniferum species.
Check out the rest of my site to learn more!
Click here to begin by learning a little about the taxonomy and
Classification of the opium
poppy.
