Poppy
A
poppy is a annual, biennial, or perennial
plant of the Family Papaveraceae, typically with showy flowers borne one per stem, native mainly to the Northern
hemisphere and often grown for ornament,
opium or
food. 15-100 cm high, it yields a milky
sap (
latex) and bears large lobed or divided leaves and white, pink, orange, or red flowers, sometimes with a dark centre, with 4-6 petals around a whorl of stamens. The fruit is a
capsule with pores through which the seeds are dispersed.
Genera in this family include:
- Meconopsis (Himalayan poppy, Welsh poppy, and relatives)
- Papaver (Iceland poppy, Oriental poppy, Opium poppy, corn poppy and about 120 other species)
- Romneya (Matilija poppy and relatives)
- Eschscholzia ( California poppy and relatives)
The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red
corn poppy.
