Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (5/21/15):
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
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
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)
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
)
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 (5/21/15):
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Papaver somniferum
FAMILY
Papaveraceae
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)
Papaver somniferum
4256
Forb
Annual
Non-native: Mediterranean Europe & Asia Minor
Documented growing wild in - NC -
Waif(s)
Look for it in disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
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
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical, or nearly so
2-merous
2-3 sepals
4 petals
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Flowers solitary, terminal
FRUIT:
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!