Opium poppy

Opium Poppy

Plant Info

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ranunculales
Family:	Papaveraceae
Genus:	Papaver
Species:	P. somniferum

Binomial name

Papaver somniferum
L.

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine are extracted. The binomial name means, loosely, the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to its narcotic properties. The seeds from low morphine varietiesTemplate:Fact are an important food item, and contain healthy oils used in salads worldwide.

Varieties

Papaver somniferum is a species of plant with many sub-groups or varieties. Some of the varieties (such as the Norman and Przemko varieties) have "low morphine" content meaning they have insufficient opium compounds to produce a "high" or to be useful to the drug trade. These "low morphine" varieties are sometimes called "breadseed poppies" or "florist poppies". The DEA considers it legal for gardeners to cultivate these "low morphine" varieties.

Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics (number and shape of petals, number of pods, production of morphine, etc.). Possession of any part of non-"low morphine" Papaver somniferum other than the seed is outlawed in the United States and is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration.^[1]

Papaver somniferum Paeoniflorum Group (sometimes called Papaver paeoniflorum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double, and are grown in many colors. Papaver somniferum Laciniatum Group (sometimes called Papaver laciniatum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double and deeply lobed, to the point of looking like a ruffly pompon.

Use as food

The seeds of the poppy are widely used as the popular "poppy seed" found in and on many food items such as bagels, bialys, muffins and cakes. The seeds can be pressed to form poppyseed oil, which can be used in cooking, or as a carrier for oil-based paints. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica's entry regarding the Opium poppy seeds, the seed contains no narcotic elements.

Although they are supposed to be clear of narcotics, the television show MythBusters demonstrated that one could test positive for narcotics after consuming 4 poppy seed bagels. The show Brainiac: Science Abuse had subjects that tested positive with only 2 poppy seed bagels. This situation was parodied on the show Seinfeld.

In India and Turkey opium poppy is known as Khaskhas or Haşhaş (pronounced: "Hashhash") and is considered a highly nutritious food item, mostly added in dough while baking bread, highly recommended for pregnant women and new mothers.

In Lithuania a traditional meal is prepared for the Kūčios (Christmas Eve) dinner from the poppy seeds. They are ground and mixed with water; round yeast bisquits (kūčiukai) are soaked in the resulting poppy seed 'milk' and served cold.

Poppy for Medicine

In both India and Turkey, opium production is used for medicinal purposes, making poppy-based drugs, such as morphine or codeine, for domestic use or exporting raw poppy materials to other countries. The United States buys 80 percent of its medicinal opium from these two countries. However, there is an acute global shortage of opium poppy-based medicines some of which (morphine) are on the World Health Organisation's list of essential drugs as they are the most effective way of relieving severe pain. A recent initiative to extend opium production for medicinal purposes called Poppy for Medicine was launched by The Senlis Council which thinks that Afghanistan could produce medicinal opium under a scheme similar to that operating in Turkey and India (see the Council's recent report "Poppy for Medicine" [1]). The Council proposes licensing poppy production in Afghanistan, within an integrated control system supported by the Afghan government and its international allies, in order to promote economic growth in the country, create vital drugs and combat poverty and the diversion of illegal opium to drug traffickers and terrorist elements. With poppy for medicine projects, opium poppy can be used as a valuable resource.

Ornamental cultivation

Many seed companies and nurseries grow and sell live plants and seeds in many highly beautiful variations.

Many countries grow the plants; some of which rely heavily on the commercial production of the drug as a major source of income. As an additional source of profit, the same seeds are sold in the culinary trade shortly thereafter, making cultivation of the plant a significant source of income. This international trade in seeds of non-"low morphine" Papaver somniferum was addressed by a UN resolution "to fight the international trade in illicit opium poppy seeds" on July 28, 1998.

History

Use of the opium poppy predates written history. Images of opium poppies have been found in ancient Sumerian artifacts (ca. 4000 BC). The opium poppy was also known to the ancient Greeks, from whom it gained its modern name of Opium. In historic contexts from Greece remains have been discovered in proto-geometric contexts at sites such as kalapodi and Kastanas.

Opium was used for treating asthma, stomach illnesses, and bad eye sight. The Opium Wars between China and the British Empire took place in the late 1830s when the Chinese attempted to stop the sale of opium by Britain, in China.

Many modern writers, particularly in the nineteenth century, have written on the opium poppy and its effects, notably L. Frank Baum with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater