Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Opium Poppy from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
When unripe capsules of the opium poppy are cut, they exude a milky latex that turns brown and rubbery when dried. This is opium. Read more at "Magical, Mystical and Medicinal".
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Papaver somniferum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Papaver somniferum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 085-05-001:
Papaver somniferum FAMILY Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Papaver somniferum
COMMON NAME:
Opium Poppy, Breadseed Poppy
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_paso2_001_lvd
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Bruce A. Sorrie bas_papaver_somniferum1
November Juan Fernandez Is. Chile
Plants glabrate, glaucous. Leaf margins usually shallowly to deeply toothed, per Flora of North America.
)
Bruce A. Sorrie bas_papaver_somniferum2
November Juan Fernandez Is. Chile
Unknown in the wild, cultivated for centuries as the source of opium, per Flora of North America.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Papaver somniferum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Papaver somniferum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 085-05-001:
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Papaver somniferum
4256
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Mediterranean Europe & Asia Minor
Waif(s)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal rosette & alternate
Basal & lower stem lvs petiolate; upper stem lvs sessile (sometimes clasping).
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
White, pink, red, or purple
often with dark or pale basal spot
Radially symmetrical, or nearly so
2-merous
2-3 sepals
4 petals
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers solitary, terminal
FRUIT:
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".