3. Papaver somniferum L. (common poppy, opium poppy)
Pl. 476 f, g;
Map 2177
Sap white. Stems
30–100 cm long, glabrous or nearly so, usually somewhat glaucous. Basal and
stem leaves sessile, the blade 15–35 cm long (the stem leaves progressively
shorter to the stem or branch tips), often appearing strongly crisped or
corrugated, sometimes with a few relatively deep lobes toward the base, but
more frequently with coarse, irregular, jagged teeth along the margins,
variously narrowly obovate to oblong-obovate or ovate in outline, the stem
leaves with rounded auricles at the base clasping the stem, the surfaces
glaucous, glabrous or the undersurface occasionally with sparse to moderate bristly
hairs along the midvein. Flower stalks 12–25 cm long, sparsely pubescent with
relatively long, spreading, broad-based hairs, sometimes only toward the tip.
Sepals 18–35 mm long, usually glabrous (rarely with a few spreading hairs near
the base), glaucous. Petals 30–60 mm long, white, pink, red, or purple, often
with a pronounced dark (less commonly light) spot at the base. Anthers yellow.
Stigmatic crown with 8–18 lobes. Fruits 25–60 mm long, broadly obovoid to
nearly globose, sometimes longitudinally faintly or finely lined but not
ribbed, glabrous, glaucous. 2n=22. May–September.
Introduced,
(cultigen of probable origin in Europe or Asia; introduced widely in the
Northern hemisphere). Railroads, roadsides, and open, disturbed areas.
Papaver
somniferum has a very
long history of ethnobotanical use. Currently, it is grown as a garden annual
in sunny garden beds (technically, this is illegal, because of the plant’s drug
properties). It also is the source of poppy seeds, which are used widely as a
flavorant in baked goods and other foods. Poppyseed oil is extracted from the
seeds and used both in cooking and as a carrier in oil-based paints. Alkaloids
in the sap of this species have strong narcotic properties and are the source
of opium and its derivatives, including heroin, morphine, and codeine. Although
morphine and codeine have legitimate pharmaceutical uses, the opiates also are
the basis of an immense, illegal, international drug trade.