Papaver rhoeasL. - Common Poppy
Scientific Description:
Stems erect, up to 90 cm. Leaves variable, usually pinnatifid or pinnatisect, the segments dentate, the terminal segment lanceolate, much longer than the lateral segments. Peduncles spreading-hispid, rarely adpressed-setose. Petals red to crimson, rarely white, with or without a blotch at the base, very variable in size. Capsule glabrous, globose to subglobose, rounded at the base, about twice as long as broad. Disc flat with up to 18 stigmas.
Flowering time: March−August.
Habitat: Fields, waste places, etc., s.l.−1400 m.
Reference:
Cullen J (1965). Papaver rhoeas L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 231.
Public Description:
Papaver rhoeas, known as “The common poppy” or “red poppy” is a herbaceous annual species. Its origin is not known for certain. As with many such plants, the area of origin is often ascribed by Americans to Europe, and by northern Europeans to southern Europe. Its native range includes West Asia, North Africa and Europe. This flower is easily recognizable by its magnificent red flowers and usually black blotches, which are found on the base of petals. Prior to the discovery of herbicides, P. rhoeas were sometimes so intense in agricultural areas that these areas were thought to be "poppy fields". However, the only and most important representative of the poppy family grown as an agricultural product on a large scale is the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.).
The common poppy is notable as an agricultural weed and after World War I as a symbol of dead soldiers. In Persian literature, red poppy is considered the flower of love and often called the “eternal lover flower”.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2015). http://www.seedaholic.com/papaver-rhoeas-field-poppy-grouped.html, Accessed date: 05.07.2015.
Anonymous 2 (2015). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_rhoeas, Accessed date: 14.07.2015.
Tugay O (2012). Papaver L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 663–668.
Cullen J (1965). Papaver rhoeas L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 231.