Difference between revisions of "Poppy"

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(I decided that poppy should actually include all types of poppy, not just Papaver, even though the rest aren't true poppies.)
 
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{{this|the plant}}
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A '''poppy''' is any of a number of colorful [[flower]]s, typically with
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:High_Wood_cemetery,_France_2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Poppy at High Wood Cemetery, [[France]]. Poppies are often seen as a symbol of [[World War I]]]] -->
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one per [[Plant stem|stem]], belonging to the [[Papaveraceae|poppy family]]. They include a number of attractive [[wildflower]] species with colorful flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in [[garden]]s. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed [[herbaceous]] border and small plants that are grown in rock or [[alpine garden]]s.
[[Image:Urmiaj.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A wild field of poppies, [[West Azarbaijan Province]], [[Iran]]]]
 
  
A '''poppy''' is any of a number of showy [[flower]]s, typically with
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[[File:Poppies in the Sunset on Lake Geneva.jpg|thumb|Poppies on Lake Geneva in Montreux.]]
one per [[Plant stem|stem]], belonging to the [[Papaveraceae|poppy family]]. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers found growing singularly or in large groups, many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous boarder and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.
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[[Image:Yellow Poppy.jpg|thumb|right|Yellow or [[California poppy]], in [[New Delhi]].]]
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The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red, and blue; some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades.  The center of the flower has a whorl of [[stamen]]s surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six [[petal]]s. Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in [[bud]], and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away.
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The [[pollen]] of the oriental poppy, ''Papaver orientale'', is dark blue. The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy (''Papaver rhoeas'') is dark blue to grey. [[Bee]]s will use poppies as a [[pollen source]].
  
The flower color of poppy species include: [[white]], [[pink]], [[yellow]], [[orange (colour)|orange]], [[red]] and [[blue]], some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades.  The center of the flower has a whorl of [[stamen]]s surrounded by a cup or bowl shaped collection of 4 to 6 [[petal]]s.  Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in [[bud]] and as blooming finishes the petals often lay flat before falling away.
 
[[Image:Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas).jpg|thumb|Corn Poppy,([[Papaver rhoeas]])]]
 
 
Poppies may be found in the [[genus|genera]]:
 
Poppies may be found in the [[genus|genera]]:
* ''[[Meconopsis]]'' - Himalayan poppy, [[Welsh poppy]] and relatives.
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* ''[[Meconopsis]]'' Himalayan poppy, [[Welsh poppy]] and relatives.
* ''[[Papaver]]'' - [[Iceland poppy]], [[Oriental poppy]], [[Opium poppy]], [[corn poppy]] and about 120 other species.
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* ''[[Papaver]]'' [[Iceland poppy]], [[Oriental poppy]], [[Opium poppy]], [[corn poppy]] and about 120 other species.
* ''[[Romneya]]'' - [[Matilija poppy]] and relatives.
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* ''[[Romneya]]'' [[Matilija poppy]] and relatives.
* ''[[Eschscholzia]]'' - [[California Poppy|California poppy]] and relatives.
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* ''[[Eschscholzia]]'' [[California Poppy|California poppy]] and relatives.
* ''[[Stylophorum]]'' - Celandine-poppy, mock poppy, yellow-poppy, wood-poppy.
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* ''[[Stylophorum]]'' Celandine-poppy, mock poppy, yellow-poppy, wood-poppy.
* ''[[Argemone]]'' - Prickly-poppy
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* ''[[Argemone]]'' Prickly-poppy
* ''[[Canbya]]'' - Pygmy-poppy  
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* ''[[Canbya]]'' Pygmy-poppy  
* ''[[Stylomecon]]'' - Wind-poppy
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* ''[[Stylomecon]]'' Wind-poppy
* ''[[Arctomecon]]'' - Desert bearclaw-poppy  
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* ''[[Arctomecon]]'' Desert bearpaw-poppy  
* ''[[Hunnemannia]]'' - Tulip poppy
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* ''[[Hunnemannia]]'' Tulip poppy
* ''[[Dendromecon]]'' - Tree poppy
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* ''[[Dendromecon]]'' Tree poppy
 
 
The [[pollen]] of the oriental poppy, ''Papaver orientale'', is dark [[blue]]. The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy ''(Papaver rhoeas)'' is dark blue to [[grey]]. [[Bee]]s will use poppies as a [[pollen source]].
 
 
 
The [[Opium Poppy|opium poppy]], ''Papaver somniferum'', is grown for [[opium]], [[opiates]] or [[seeds]] to be used in cooking and baking, eg. ''Hungarian Poppy seed rolls''.
 
 
 
==Poppies in Afghanistan==
 
[[Afghanistan]] is the world's leading producer of [[opium]], from the poppy (papaver somniferum). Poppy cultivation is currently illegal and so all opium produced is diverted to the illegal narcotics trade: Afghanistan is also the world's leading source of [[heroin]], made from opium. Since the international intervention in 2001, the international community and the Afghan authorities have carried out programmes to eradicate poppy to try and limit the illegal traffic of opium and heroin. Although poppy cultivation decreased for a time, since 2003 the trend has reversed and cultivation has increased. Millions of Afghans depend on poppy cultivation for their livelihood and alternative development programmes have not been put in place by the international community to replace lost livelihoods. Some have suggested that eradication has failed and another policy should be put in place. The [[Senlis Council]] is one of the organisations working to find an alternative to eradication and hopes that a project to for [[opium licensing]] for medicinal use could provide a solution to the problems of diversion, poverty among the rural population and a shortage of essential poppy-based medicines such as morphine and codeine.<ref>http://www.senliscouncil.net/modules/publications/documents/poppy_medicine_technical_dossier</ref>
 
 
 
==Symbolism==
 
Poppies have long been used as a symbol of both sleep and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of their (commonly) blood red color.  In Greco-Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead.<ref>L. Fr
 
ank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', p 173, ISBN 0-517-500868</ref>  Poppies are used as emblems on [[headstone|tombstones]] to symbolize eternal sleep.  This aspect was used, fictionally, in ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' to create magical poppy fields, dangerous because they caused those who passed through them to sleep forever.<ref>L. Frank Baum, Michael Patrick Hearn, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', p 173, ISBN 0-517-500868</ref>
 
 
 
A second meaning for the depiction and use of poppies in Greco-Roman myths is the symbolism of the bright scarlet colour as signifying the promise of resurrection after death.  Robert Graves, ''The Greek Myths'', 24. 15 p 96, ISBN 0-14-001026-2
 
 
 
The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red [[corn poppy]], ''Papaver rhoeas''. This poppy is a common [[weed]] in [[Europe]] and is found in many locations, including [[Flanders Fields]]. This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive bombing. During the few weeks the plant blossoms the battlefield was colored blood red, not just from the red flower that grew in great numbers but also from the actual the blood of the dead soldiers and civilians that lay scattered and untended to on the otherwise barren battlegrounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead [[WWI]] soldiers.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} In many [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries, [[artificial]], [[paper]] versions of this poppy are worn to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I and other wars, during the weeks preceding [[Remembrance Day]] on [[November 11]]. It has been adopted as a symbol by [[The Royal British Legion]] in their [[Poppy Appeal]].
 
  
In New Zealand and Australia, paper poppies are widely distributed by the Returned Services Association leading up to [[ANZAC Day|ANZAC]] day (April 25th).
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== Uses ==
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All species of poppies are attractive and most are cultivated as ornamental garden plants.  A few species have other uses, principally as sources of drugs and foods.  One species is so widely used, for both drugs and food, that its world production is monitored by international agencies.  That species is the opium poppy, ''[[Papaver somniferum]]''.  It is grown for opium and opiates obtained from it, poppy seed for use in cooking and baking,  poppyseed oil for both culinary and other uses, and as an ornamental garden plant.
  
The [[California poppy|golden poppy]], ''Eschscholzia californica'', is the state flower of [[California]].
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==Gallery of poppy images==
 
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<gallery widths="180px" heights="180px" perrow="4">
==False positive drug tests==
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Image:Poppy - Ontario Canada - Relic38.JPG|Close-up of an Oriental poppy ([[Papaver orientale]]). Ontario, Canada. June 2002.
Although the drug [[opium]] is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially [[morphine]] and [[codeine]]. This means that eating foods (e.g., [[muffins]]) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test.
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Image:Poppybud.jpg|A poppy [[bud]] and plant.
 
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Image:Crowning P Somniferum topview.jpg|Immature crowning [[Opium Poppy]], top view.
This was considered "[[MythBusters episodes: Specials#Pilot 3 — "Larry's Lawn Chair Balloon, Poppy Seed Drug Test, Goldfinger"|confirmed]]" by the presenters of the television program ''[[MythBusters]]''. One participant, [[Adam Savage]], who ate an entire [[loaf]] of poppy seed [[cake]] tested positive for opiates just half an hour later. A second participant, [[Jamie Hyneman]], who ate three poppy seed [[bagels]], first tested positive two hours after eating. Both tested positive for the remainder of the day, but were clean 18 hours later. The show "[[Brainiac: Science Abuse]]" also did experiments where a priest ate several poppy seed bagels and gave a sample, which also resulted in a false positive.
 
 
 
The results of this experiment are inconclusive by current standards, because a test was used with an opiate cutoff level of 300 ng/mL instead of the current [[SAMHSA]] recommended cutoff level used in the [[NIDA 5#The NIDA 5|NIDA 5]] test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid false positives from poppy seeds [http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/opiates/opiates_testing.shtml]. However, according to an article published in the ''Medical Science Law Journal'', after ingesting "a curry meal or two containing various amounts of washed seeds" where total morphine levels were in the range 58.4 to 62.2 µg/g seeds, the urinary morphine levels were found to range as high as 1.27 µg/mL (1,270 ng/mL) urine [http://opioids.com/poppyseeds/curries.html]. Another article in the ''Journal of Forensic Science'' reports that concentration of morphine in some batches of seeds may
 
be as high as 251 µg/g [http://opioids.com/poppyseeds/urinalysis.html]. In both studies codeine was also present in the seeds in smaller concentrations. Therefore it is possible to cross the current standard 2,000 ng/mL [[limit of detection]], depending on seed potency and quantity ingested. Some toxicology labs still continue to use a cuttoff level of 300 ng/mL [http://healthy.net/scr/article.asp?Id=8087].
 
 
 
==Trivia==
 
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}
 
*In an episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'', the character Elaine tested positive for opioids in a round of tests mandated by her workplace. She eventually found out that this was coming from her daily consumption of poppy-seed muffin.
 
*The sale of poppy seeds from [[Papaver somniferum]] is banned in [[Singapore]] due to the morphine content.
 
*Poppy seeds are also banned in [[Saudi Arabia]] due to various religious and drug control reasons.<ref>http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&section=0&article=76072&d=10&m=1&y=2006</ref>
 
*Poppy is widely consumed in many parts of central and eastern [[Europe]]. The sugared, milled mature seeds are eaten with pasta or they are boiled with milk and used as filling or topping on various kinds of sweet pastry. Some consider this  cuisine tradition to have Pagan roots.
 
*Poppy seeds are widely used in [[Bengali cuisine]].
 
*Janos Kabay, a Hungarian chemist worked out a procedure for the production of morphine from poppy straw.
 
 
 
==Gallery==
 
<gallery>
 
Image:Poppybud.jpg|A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Poppybud.jpg poppy bud] and plant.
 
Image:Crowning_P_Somniferum_topview.jpg|Immature crowning [[Opium]] Poppy, top view.
 
 
Image:Poppy bud opening.jpg|A poppy bud opening.
 
Image:Poppy bud opening.jpg|A poppy bud opening.
Image:Poppy_seeds.jpg|''Papaver somniferum'' seeds.
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Image:Poppy seeds.jpg|''[[Papaver somniferum]]'' seeds.
Image:Poppy-closeup.jpg|''Papaver rhoeas''.
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Image:Poppy-closeup.jpg|''[[Papaver rhoeas]]''.
Image:PoppyClose.jpg|Closeup of a poppy flower in private garden Derbyshire UK May 2007 ([[Derbyshire]]), [[England]].
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Image:PoppyClose.jpg|Closeup of a poppy flower in private garden, Derbyshire, England, UK, May 2007.
Image:Poppy-purple.png|Close up view of a poppy bloom (and buds in the background). Papaver Somniferum. See [[Opium Poppy]].
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Image:Poppy-purple.png|Close up view of a poppy bloom (and buds in the background). ''[[Papaver somniferum]]''.
Image:Poppy-closeup2.jpg|Closeup of a poppy flower at the Monastery of Lorch ([[Baden-Württemberg]]), [[Germany]].
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Image:Poppy-closeup2.jpg|Closeup of a poppy flower at the Monastery of Lorch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
 
Image:California Poppies3.jpg|[[California Poppy]].
 
Image:California Poppies3.jpg|[[California Poppy]].
Image:Oldpoppies.jpg|Field of poppies, from a photograph by [[Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii]], taken ca. [[1912]].
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Image:Oldpoppies.jpg|Field of poppies, from a photograph by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, taken ca. 1912.
Image:HPIM4092.JPG|A wild field of poppies, above the [[Wye Valley]] / [[UK]] in June 2006.
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Image:HPIM4092.JPG|A wild field of poppies, above the Wye Valley, UK, in June 2006.
Image:Poppy2004.JPG|Poppies near [[Kelling]] [[North Norfolk]] [[UK]] in June 2002
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Image:Poppy2004.JPG|Poppies near Kelling, North Norfolk, UK, in June 2002
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Image:Poppy-seeds.jpg|Close up of white poppy seeds. There are about 140,000 poppy seeds to the ounce<ref>Dr. Hutchins, R. E. 1965. ''The Amazing Seeds.''
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New York: Dodd, Mead and Company.</ref>
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Image:Field poppy (Papaver rhoeas) in meadow.jpg|The Field or Corn poppy ''[[Papaver rhoeas]]''.
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Image:Polish Poppies.JPG|Poppies in a Polish field.
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
  
==See also==
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{{WPATT}}
{{commons|Poppy (Papaveraceae)}}
 
*[[Remembrance Day]]
 
*"[[In Flanders Fields]]"
 
*[[Morphine]]
 
*[[Heroin]]
 
  
{{Herbs & spices}}
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== References ==
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{{reflist|2}}
  
== References ==
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<!-- disambiguation page -->
<references/>
 
  
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[[Category:Plant common names]]
 
[[Category:Flowers]]
 
[[Category:Flowers]]
[[Category:Spices]]
 
[[Category:Edible nuts and seeds]]
 
 
[[Category:Symbols]]
 
[[Category:Symbols]]
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[[es:Papaverales]]
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[[fr:Papaverales]]
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[[lt:Aguoniečiai]]
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[[nl:Papaverales]]
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[[ja:ケシ目]]
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[[pl:Makowce]]
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[[pt:Papaverales]]
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[[ro:Papaverales]]
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[[sl:Mak]]
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[[tr:Gelincik_(bitki)]]
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[[zh:罂粟目]]

Latest revision as of 09:21, 8 February 2010

A poppy is any of a number of colorful flowers, typically with one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with colorful flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous border and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.

Poppies on Lake Geneva in Montreux.

The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red, and blue; some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. The center of the flower has a whorl of stamens surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six petals. Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away.

The pollen of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, is dark blue. The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is dark blue to grey. Bees will use poppies as a pollen source.

Poppies may be found in the genera:

Uses

All species of poppies are attractive and most are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. A few species have other uses, principally as sources of drugs and foods. One species is so widely used, for both drugs and food, that its world production is monitored by international agencies. That species is the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. It is grown for opium and opiates obtained from it, poppy seed for use in cooking and baking, poppyseed oil for both culinary and other uses, and as an ornamental garden plant.

Gallery of poppy images

Attribution

Much of this article is copied from w:Poppy under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

References


es:Papaverales fr:Papaverales lt:Aguoniečiai nl:Papaverales ja:ケシ目 pl:Makowce pt:Papaverales ro:Papaverales sl:Mak tr:Gelincik_(bitki) zh:罂粟目