{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae}} {{Cleanup reorganize|date=March 2026}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Papaver_April_2010-3.jpg | image_caption = ''Papaver setigerum'' | display_parents = 2 | taxon = Papaver | authority = L. | type_species = ''Papaver somniferum'' | type_species_authority = L.<ref name="kiger73">{{cite journal |author=Robert W. Kiger |year=1973 |title=Sectional nomenclature in ''Papaver'' L. |journal=Taxon |volume=22 |issue=5/6 |pages=579–582 |jstor=1218633 |doi=10.2307/1218633|doi-access= |bibcode=1973Taxon..22..579K }}</ref> }}
'''''Papaver''''' {{IPAc-en|p|ə|ˈ|p|eɪ|v|ər}}<ref>Kathleen Norris Brenzel ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' (1995) pp. 606–607 {{ISBN|0-376-03874-8}}</ref> is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the '''poppy''' family, Papaveraceae.
==Description== The flowers have two sepals that fall off as the bud opens, and four (or up to six) petals in red, pink, orange, yellow, or lilac. There are many stamens in several whorls around a compound pistil, which results from the fusion of carpels. The stigmas are visible on top of the capsule, and the number of stigmas corresponds to the number of fused carpels.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
The ovary later develops into a dehiscing capsule, capped by the dried stigmas. The opened capsule scatters its numerous, tiny seeds as air movement shakes it, due to the long stem.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
The typical ''Papaver'' gynoecium is superior (the flower is hypogynous) with a globular ovary. The style is characteristically absent for the type species opium poppy, and several others, although those with a style do exist.<ref name=Carolan06/> The sessile plate-like stigmata lies on top of the ovary. Pollen-receptive surfaces. The characteristic fruit type of ''Papaver'' is the unilocular capsule. The stigmatic disc rests on top of the capsule, and beneath it are dehiscent pores or valves.<ref name=Bernath98>Bernath. 1998. Poppy: the genus Papaver.—(Medicinal and aromatic plants : industrial profiles; v. 3). Harwood Academic Publishers. {{ISBN|0-203-30418-7}}</ref>
==Taxonomy== {{Update|this section|reason=publications since 2006 are not taken into account|inaccurate=yes|talk=Taxonomy is out of date|date=February 2021}} Divided into a number of sections by Kiger (1973, 1985),<ref name="kiger73"/><ref>{{cite journal |author=Robert W. Kiger |year=1985 |title=Revised sectional nomenclature in ''Papaver'' L. |journal=Taxon |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=150–152 |doi=10.2307/1221582 |jstor=1221582 |bibcode=1985Taxon..34..150K }}</ref> the following are lectotypified with their lectotype species. Subsequent cladistic classification by Carolan ''et al.'' (2006) suggested ''Papaver'' was not monophyletic. * Clade 1. ''P.'' sect. ''Meconella'', ''Meconopsis'' * Clade 2. ''P.'' sect. ''Carinatae'', ''P.'' sect. ''Meconidium'', ''P.'' sect. ''Oxytona'', ''P.'' sect. ''Papaver'', ''P.'' sect. ''Pilosa'', ''P.'' sect. ''Pseudopilosa'', ''P. cambrica'', ''P.'' sect. ''Californicum'', ''P.'' sect. ''Horrida'' and ''P.'' sect. ''Rhoeadium'' * Clade 3. ''P.'' sect. ''Argemonidium'', ''Roemeria refracta''
The following are lectotypified with their lectotype species: * ''P.'' sect. ''Carinatae'' (''P. macrostomum'' Boiss. & Huet) * ''P.'' sect. ''Oxytona'' (''P. orientale'' L.) * ''P.'' sect. ''Macrantha'' (''P. orientale'' L.) - superfluous * ''P.'' sect. ''Calomecon'' (''Calomecon orientale'')
==Phylogeny of ''Papaver'' and related genera== {{Update|this section|reason=publications since 2006 are not taken into account|inaccurate=yes|talk=Taxonomy is out of date|date=February 2021}} [[File:Illustration Papaver argemone0.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration of ''Papaver argemone'']] ''Papaver'' sect. ''Argemonidium'' includes four annual, half-rosette species, ''P. argemone'', ''P. pavonium'', ''P. apulum'', and ''P. hybridum'' (Kadereit 1986a). ''Papaver apulum,'' ''P. argemone'' and ''P. pavonium'' occur allopatrically from the Adriatic Sea to the Himalayan range. ''P. hybridum'' is distributed widely from the Himalayas to Macaronesian Islands.<ref name=Kadereit86>{{Cite journal |last=Kadereit |first=J. W. |year=1986 |title=A revision of ''Papaver'' section ''Argemonidium'' |journal=Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |volume=44 |pages=25–43 |doi=10.24823/nrbge.1986.3459 }}</ref> These species are easily distinguished in petal and capsule characters,<ref name=Kadereit86/> but are clearly closely related according to molecular analysis.<ref name="Carolan06"/> ''Argemonidium'' is a sister group to all other ''Papaver'' sections, with characteristic indels.<ref name="Carolan06"/> Morphological characters also support this distinction, including the presence of an apical plug in the capsules, long internodes above the basal leaf rosette, bristly capsules and polyporate pollen grains.<ref name=Kadereit86/><ref name="Ernst62">Ernst WR. 1962. A comparative morphology of the Papaveraceae. PhD thesis, Stanford University, Stanford, California</ref> Carolan et al. (2006) supported Kadereit et al. (1997)'s suggestions that ''Argemonidium'' and ''Roemeria'' are in fact sister taxa.<ref name=Kadereit97>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kadereit JW, Schwarzbach AE, Jork KB|year=1997|title=The phylogeny of ''Papaver'' s.l. (Papaveraceae): polyphyly or monophyly?|journal=Plant Systematics and Evolution|volume=204|issue=1–2|pages=75–98|url=http://blue.utb.edu/aschwarzbach/publications/PapaveraceaeMonoPoly.pdf|doi=10.1007/BF00982533|bibcode=1997PSyEv.204...75K |s2cid=20019969|access-date=2011-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524165022/http://blue.utb.edu/aschwarzbach/publications/PapaveraceaeMonoPoly.pdf|archive-date=2012-05-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> They share some morphological characters that distinguish them from ''Papaver'', including polyporate pollen grains, and long internodes superior the basal leaf rosette.<ref name="Carolan06"/> Previous taxonomies of the Old World clade did include the close relationship between ''Argemonidium'' and ''Roemeria'', nor ''Argemonidium'''s distinctness from ''Papaver'' s.s. Carolan suggest ''Argemonidium'' be elevated to genus status, with ''Roemeria'' a sub-genus. [[File:PapapverSpicatum.jpg|thumb|''Papaver spicatum'']] ''Papaver'' sect. ''Meconella'' is widely distributed, with populations spanning central, inner and eastern Asia, Siberia, Scandinavia, northern Greenland, Canada, the Rocky Mountains, and regions of Europe.<ref name=Kadereit88a>{{cite journal |last=Kadereit |first=J.W. |year=1988a |title=Sectional affinities and geographical distribution in the genus ''Papaver'' L. (Papaveraceae) |journal=Beiträge zur Biologie der Pflanzen |volume=63 |pages=139–156 }}</ref> It has been distinguished from other ''Papaver'' sections morphologically by its bristly, valvate capsules, pinnatisect leaves, pale stamen, and white, orange or yellow corolla.<ref name= "Kadereit88a"/> Older taxonomies divided ''Meconella'' into two groups based on degree of leaf dissection (finely dissected leaves vs. broad leaf lobes). Kadereit (1990) and Kadereit and Sytsma (1992)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kadereit |first1=J.W. |last2=Sytsma |first2=K.J. |year=1992 |title=Disassembling ''Papaver'': a restriction site analysis of chloroplast DNA |journal=Nordic Journal of Botany |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=205–217 |doi=10.1111/j.1756-1051.1992.tb01292.x |bibcode=1992NorJB..12..205K }}</ref> regarded finely dissected leaves as a derived character, and suggested that ''Meconella'' formed a group with ''Argemonidium'' as sister to other ''Papaver'' sects. Bittkau and Kadereit (2002) demonstrated that for ''P. alpinum'' s.l. broad leaf lobes were ancestral. Carolan et al. (2006) resolved ''Meconopsis'' as sister to sect. ''Meconella'', forming a sister clade to the rest of ''Papaver'', excluding ''Argemonidium''.<ref name="Kadereit97"/> ''Meconella'' possesses a sessile stigmatic disc, similar to the typical discs of ''Papaver'' sect. ''Papaver''., yet differences in the disc and other morphological characters have led to suggestions that this feature may not be homologous.<ref name="Kadereit97"/> The results of the Carolan ''et al.'' (2006) analysis present a major problem to previous taxonomy of the genera ''Meconopsis'', and ''Papaver''. As several species of ''Meconopsis'' (excluding ''M. cambrica'') and ''P. Meconella'' resolved as a monophyletic group, sister to other ''Papaver'' sects., either ''Meconella'' must be elevated to genus status, or combined with the Asian species of ''Meconopsis'', as a subgenus of ''Papaver''.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
[[File:Papavercalifornicum1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.85|The fire poppy, ''Papaver californicum'', is placed in a section, ''Papaver'' sect. ''Californicum'', on its own.<ref name="Carolan06">{{cite journal |author1=James C. Carolan |author2=Ingrid L. I. Hook |author3=Mark W. Chase |author4=Joachim W. Kadereit |author5=Trevor R. Hodkinson |year=2006 |title=Phylogenetics of ''Papaver'' and related genera based on DNA sequences from ITS nuclear ribosomal DNA and plastid ''trnL'' intron and ''trnL–F'' intergenic spacers |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=141–155 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcl079 |pmid=16675606 |pmc=2803553 |url=}}</ref>]] ''Papaver'' sects. ''Californicum'' and ''Horrida'' have unique geographic distributions in relation to the rest of the genus. ''Horrida'' is represented by a single species ''Papaver aculeatum'' of, an annual flower native to South Africa. The capsule is glabrous narrow, long and poricidal. The vegetative parts are covered with setae, and the growth form is a rosette with rarely branching axes, and narrowly elliptical incised leaves.<ref name="Bernath98" /><ref name="Kadereit88c">Kadereit JW. 1988c. The affinities of the south-hemispherical Papaver aculeatum Thunb. (Papaveraceae). Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 109: 335–341</ref> P. sect. californicum, is also represented by a single annual species, of the same name. As the name implies, it is native to western North America, and is characterized by a slender, ribbed, glabrous capsule, a racemose inflorescence, yellow anthers and filaments, and valvate capsule dehiscece.<ref name="Kadereit88b">{{cite journal|author=Kadereit, J. W.|year= 1988b|title=''Papaver'' L. sect ''Californicum'' Kadereit, a new section of the genus ''Papaver'' |journal=Rhodora |volume=90|pages= 7–13|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/pdf2/000760600024167.pdf}} [https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_36012_papaverlsectcalifornicumkadere9999 archive]</ref> Previous morphological-based taxonomies of these species have led to unreliable groupings. ''Horrida'' and ''Pilosa'' have racemose inflorescences, pale filiform filaments and long capsules with flat stigmatic discs, while ''P. californicum'' and sect. ''Meconidium'' share valvate capsule dehiscence and pale filaments, but geographically these species are distinct, and do not follow molecular evidence. Commonality among these features is therefore hypothesized to be a result of convergence. In Carolan et al.'s (2006) combined ITS, trnL-F trees, both ''Horrida'' and ''Californicum'' attach to basal nodes within the main clade ''Papaver''. Kadereit ''et al.'' (1997) postulated that ''Stylomecon heterophylla'' arose from within ''Papaver'' and should not be relegated as a separate genus. ''S. heterophylla'' and ''P. californicum'' are both native to southwestern North America, and share habitats. They are also morphologically similar, sharing glabrous buds, bright orange corollas, and yellow anthers.<ref name="Kadereit88b" /> Their capsules are different, with ''S. heterophylla'' possessing a distinct style that is reminiscent of those in many ''Meconopsis'' species. However, Carolan et al.'s (2006) analysis strongly supports a monophyletic group for ''S. heterophylla'' and ''P. californicum'', sister to the core ''Papaver'' sects, with ''Horrida'', basal to that grouping. They recommended that both sects. ''Californicum'' and ''Horrida'' be elevated to "subgenera" within ''Papaver''. The authors reject the genus status of ''Stylomecon''.{{cn|date=June 2025}}
''Meconopsis'' is composed of mostly Asian dwelling species, and a single European representative, ''M. cambrica''. Kadereit et al. (1997) first provided evidence that this relationship is not monophyletic. Carolan et al. (2006) confirmed the separation of ''M. cambrica'' from the rest of ''Meconopsis''. In fact, it forms a well-supported sister-group to the core sections of ''Papaver'', excluding ''Argemonidium'', ''Californicum'', ''Horrida'' and ''Meconella''.
The core sections of ''Papaver'' s.s. form a well-supported clade, consisting of ''Pseudopilosa'', ''Pilosa'', ''Papaver'', ''Carinatae'', ''Meconidium'', ''Oxytona'', and ''Rhoeadium''.<ref name="Carolan06" /><ref name="Kadereit97" /> ''Pseudopilosa'' spp. have a subscapose growth habit, and their distribution includes south-western Asia, northern Africa and southern Spain.<ref name="Bernath98" /> There are some leaves on the lower part of the flower axis carrying a single flower. Carolan et al.'s (2006) analysis placed ''Pseudopilosa'' as sister to the remaining ''Papaver'' s.s. sections. ''Pilosa'' is a single species, ''P. pilosum'', found mostly in western Turkey <ref name="Kadereit96">{{cite journal|author=Kadereit JW|year= 1996|title= A revision of Papaver L. sects Pilosa Prantl and Pseudopilosa M. Popov ex Gunther (Papaveraceae)|journal= Edinburgh Journal of Botany |volume=53|pages= 285–309|doi=10.1017/S0960428600003747|issue=3|doi-access=free}}</ref> Sects. ''Pilosa'' and ''Pseudopilosa'' are separated based on morphological and chemical differences.<ref name="Bernath98"/><ref name="Kadereit96"/>
[[File:Papaver rhoeas LC0050.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Papaver rhoeas'', a common poppy across Europe]] The monophyly of ''Carinatae'', ''Papaver'' and ''Rhoeadium'' is questionable based on current molecular evidence.<ref name="Carolan06"/> ''Papaver'' sect. ''Rhoeadium'' comprises seventeen annual species.<ref name="Kadereit89">{{cite journal|author=Kadereit JW|year= 1989|title= A revision of Papaver section Rhoeadium Spach|journal=Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh |volume=45|issue= 2|pages= 225–286|doi= 10.24823/nrbge.1989.3524}}</ref> Carolan et al. (2006) use three representative species, ''P. commutatum'', ''P. dubium'', and ''P. rhoeas'' for their genetic analysis. The geographic center of ''Rhoeadium'''s diversity is in south-western Asia and the Aegean area. They have poricidal capsules and usually dark filaments. This section is morphologically diverse however, leading Kadereit (1989) to recognize three distinct groups. The first comprises species with tetraploid and hexaploid genomes, with long capsules. The second group contains diploid species and diverse morphologies. The third group consists of diploid species and uniform morphologies. Carolan et al. (2006) showed some incongruences between their trnL-F and ITS maximum parsimony trees, showing weak support for Kadereit's (1989) groupings. Further analyses with more species and more samples will be necessary to resolve the phylogeny at this level.
''Papaver'' has traditionally been characterized by the absence of a stigma, and the presence of a sessile stigmatic disc. Carolan et al. (2006) demonstrated that several species with this trait however are closely related to taxa possessing a style e.g. ''S. heterophylla'' and ''P. californicum'', and P. sect. ''Meconella'' and Asian ''Meconopsis''. This evidence, in combination with morphological differences among the discs suggests convergent evolutionary pathways. ''Papaver'' has long been considered the most derived clade within Papaveroideae, due to the belief that the stigmatic disc was an apomorphous characteristic. Sections ''Meconella'' and ''Californicum'' exhibit valvate dehiscence, and their basal position within ''Papaver'' suggest this may be an ancestral form.<ref name="Carolan06"/> Its presence in ''Meconidium'', however, suggests it is also a synapomorphy within that group.
Note: ''Meconella'' (not to be confused with the genus ''Meconella'') has an alpine and circumpolar arctic distribution and includes some of the most northerly-growing vascular land plants.
== Species == {{As of|2025}} according to Plants of the World Online there are 68 accepted species in the genus.<ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=30000445-2 |title=''Papaver'' L. |access-date=19 December 2025}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=24em}} * ''Papaver acrochaetum'' * ''Papaver aculeatum'' – South African poppy * ''Papaver alberti'' * ''Papaver albiflorum'' * ''Papaver arachnoideum'' * ''Papaver arenarium'' * ''Papaver armeniacum'' * ''Papaver atlanticum'' * ''Papaver bipinnatum'' * ''Papaver bracteatum'' * ''Papaver cambricum'' * ''Papaver carmeli'' * ''Papaver chelidoniifolium'' * ''Papaver clavatum'' * ''Papaver commutatum'' * ''Papaver confine'' * ''Papaver crassifolium'' * ''Papaver curviscapum'' * ''Papaver cyprium'' * ''Papaver decaisnei'' * ''Papaver dubium'' – long-headed poppy, blindeyes * ''Papaver glabrum'' * ''Papaver glaucum'' – tulip poppy, Turkish red poppy * ''Papaver gorgoneum'' * ''Papaver gorovanicum'' * ''Papaver gracile'' * ''Papaver halophilum'' * ''Papaver heterophyllum'' * ''Papaver holophyllum'' * ''Papaver humile'' * ''Papaver kachroianum'' * ''Papaver laevigatum'' * ''Papaver lateritium'' * ''Papaver lecoqii'' – Yellow-juiced Poppy * ''Papaver libanoticum'' * ''Papaver macrostomum'' * ''Papaver maculosum'' * ''Papaver mairei'' * ''Papaver malviflorum'' * ''Papaver maschukense'' * ''Papaver oreophilum'' * ''Papaver orientale'' * ''Papaver pamporicum'' * ''Papaver paphium'' * ''Papaver pasquieri'' * ''Papaver persicum'' * ''Papaver pilosum'' * ''Papaver pinnatifidum'' * ''Papaver piptostigma'' * ''Papaver postii'' * ''Papaver purpureomarginatum'' * ''Papaver rechingeri'' * ''Papaver rhoeas'' – common poppy, corn poppy, annual poppy, Flanders poppy, Shirley poppy * ''Papaver roseolum'' * ''Papaver rupifragum'' – Atlas poppy, Moroccan poppy, Spanish poppy * ''Papaver schelkovnikovii'' * ''Papaver setiferum'' – Oriental poppy * ''Papaver sheperdii'' * ''Papaver somniferum'' – Opium poppy, breadseed poppy (Type species) * ''Papaver stewartianum'' * ''Papaver talyshense'' * ''Papaver tenuifolium'' * ''Papaver tichomirovii'' * ''Papaver umbonatum'' – Semitic poppy, Israeli poppy * ''Papaver yildirimlii'' * ''Papaver zangesurum'' {{div col end}}
Many species that were classified in ''Papaver'' have been moved to other names. Species previously placed here include:
* ''Meconopsis quintuplinervia'' (''Papaver quintuplinervium'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=673334-1 |title=''Meconopsis quintuplinervia'' Regel |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon alpina'' (''Papaver alpinum'', including the synonyms ''Papaver aurantiacum'', ''Papaver burseri'', ''Papaver degenii'', and ''Papaver sendtneri'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77307939-1 |title=''Oreomecon alpina'' (L.) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon crocea'' (''Papaver croceum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77307942-1 |title=''Oreomecon crocea'' (Ledeb.) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon dahliana'' (''Papaver dahlianum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77332860-1 |title=''Oreomecon dahliana'' (Nordh.) Galasso, Banfi & Bartolucci |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon lapponica'' (''Papaver lapponicum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77332865-1 |title=''Oreomecon lapponica'' (Tolm.) Galasso, Banfi & Bartolucci |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon nudicaulis'' (''Papaver nudicaule'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77307944-1 |title=''Oreomecon nudicaulis'' (L.) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon pygmaea'' (''Papaver pygmaeum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77336613-1 |title=''Oreomecon pygmaea'' (Rydb.) Krivenko |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Oreomecon radicata'' (''Papaver radicatum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77307945-1 |title=''Oreomecon radicata'' (Rottb.) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Roemeria argemone'' (''Papaver argemone'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=962053-1 |title=''Roemeria argemone'' (L.) C.Morales, R.Mend. & Romero García |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> * ''Roemeria sicula'' (''Papaver hybridum'')<ref>{{Cite POWO |last1=POWO |date=2025 |id=77319917-1 |title=''Roemeria sicula'' (Guss.) Galasso, Banfi, L.Sáez & Bartolucci |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref>
==History and uses== Poppies have been grown as ornamental plants since 5000 BC in Mesopotamia. They were found in Egyptian tombs. In Greek mythology, the poppy was associated with Demeter, goddess of fertility and agriculture. The origin of the cultural symbol was probably Minoan Crete, because a figurine known as the "poppy goddess" was found at a Minoan sanctuary in Crete. thumb|upright|The seed-heads of ''Papaver somniferum'' are slit to release the latex, which contains various alkaloids. In the course of history, poppies have always been attributed important medicinal properties. The stems contain a milky latex that may cause skin irritation, and the latex in the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum'') contains several narcotic alkaloids, including morphine and codeine. The alkaloid rhoeadine, derived from the flowers of the corn poppy (''Papaver rhoeas''), is used as a mild sedative. Poppy seeds are used in baking and cooking, and poppyseed oil is used in cooking and pharmaceuticals, and as a radiocontrast agent.
The ancient Greeks portrayed Hypnos, Nyx and Thanatos, the gods of sleep, night and death, with the symbol of the poppy. The earliest written record appeared in the eighth century BC. Early Greek accounts seem to indicate the plant was used for euthanasia; on some Greek islands, women used it in old age to shorten the time left until natural death. Hippocrates (460–377 BC) was one of the first to emphasize the medicinal uses of the poppy and outline several methods of preparation. He described poppy juice as narcotic, hypnotic, and cathartic. He also recognized the plant's uses as food, particularly the seeds.<ref name="Bernath98"/> By the first century AD, Dioskorides wrote down the first poppy taxonomy. He distinguished between several different kinds, the first of which was the "cultivated" or "garden" poppies. He further distinguished two types within this category, ones with black and others with white seeds. Both had elongated capsules and the black-seeded variety was involuted. Historians speculate this variety was ''Papaver somniferum''. Other species were in use, as well. Dioskorides named the "flowering" poppy as a type with strong hypnotic properties. This is believed to be ''Papaver hybridum''. Finally, the "wild" poppy he described is believed to be ''Papaver orientale''. Pliny the Elder, a Roman historian, later mentioned an "intermediate" type between the wild and cultivated poppy, likely ''Papaver rhoeas''. He wrote about medical applications of the plant; the leaves and capsules were boiled in water to create juice, pressed and rubbed to create tablets, and the dried latex was used to form opium. These products were used in much the same way they are in many cultures today, to promote sleep and to relieve indigestion and respiratory problems.<ref name="Kahl07">{{cite journal|author=Kahl, O. |year=2007|title= The medicinal use of opium in ninth-century Baghdad|doi=10.1093/shm/hkn013|journal=Bulletin of the History of Medicine|volume= 81|issue=2|pages=446–447}}</ref>
A century later, Galen wrote even more extensively about the diverse applications of various poppy products. He wrote that opium was the strongest known drug for dulling the senses and for inducing sleep. He wrote about its use to treat a variety of ailments, including eye and lung inflammation.<ref name="Kahl07"/>
The First (1839{{ndash}}1842) and Second Opium Wars (1856{{ndash}}1860) between China and Great Britain resulted from attempts by successive Chinese emperors to suppress increasing imports of opium into the country.<ref name="Gray02">Gray, Jack. 2002. Rebellions and Revolutions: China from the 1800s to 2000. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 22–23 {{ISBN|0-19-870069-5}}.</ref> In the first half of the 19th century, poppy seed oil was an important food crop, but large-scale production did not begin until Europe began to manufacture morphine in the mid-19th century. While 800–1000 tons of Indian opium are processed legally each year,{{when|date=March 2014}} this represents only an estimated 5% of total opium production worldwide; the majority is produced illegally. The first factory specializing in dry capsule processing was built in 1928.<ref name="Bernath98"/>
Today, morphine and codeine are common alkaloids found in several poppy varieties, and are important drugs for much of the world. Australia, Turkey and India are the most important producers of poppy for medicinal use, while the US, the UK, France, Australia and Hungary are the largest processors.<ref name="Dicker09">Dicker, Jason. [http://www.launc.tased.edu.au/online/sciences/agsci/alkalo/popindus.htm "The Poppy Industry in Tasmania"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211054348/http://www.launc.tased.edu.au/online/sciences/agsci/alkalo/popindus.htm |date=2011-12-11 }}. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 12-09-2011.</ref> In the United States, opium is illegal, as is possession or cultivation of the flower itself.<ref name="Ayatollah09">Ayatollah. [http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/scheduling.html "Drug Scheduling"]. Drug Enforcement Administration. Retrieved 12-09-2011.</ref> However, the law is seldom enforced when poppies are grown for culinary or ornamental use. The Opium Poppy Control Act Of 1942 led to the "Poppy Rebellion", and a battle between California farmers and the federal government. Today, the law and its enforcement remain vague and controversial, even inciting episodes between gardeners and "the poppy police".<ref name="Pollan97">Pollan, Michael. [http://www.wesjones.com/pollan1.htm#source Opium Made Easy]. Harper's Magazine. 1997. Retrieved 12-11-2011.</ref>
They are also sold as cut flowers in flower arrangements, especially the Iceland poppy.
== References == {{Reflist|32em}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20101115095534/http://luirig.altervista.org/flora/papaver.htm Flora Italiana] * [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Papaver.html University of Melbourne: Papaver]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q146391}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Papaver Category:Papaveraceae genera Category:Garden plants