Poppy

For the video game character, see Poppy (video game character).

Papaver rhoeas

Poppy at High Wood cemetery, France. Poppies are often seen as a symbol of World War I

A poppy is an 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, Papaver rhoeas.

Poppy

See also