Papaver rhoeas

Shrub

Papaver species are erect, annual, biennial or perennial herbs, with milky white, yellowish or orange fluid. Stem simple bristly or rarely glabrous. Leaves mostly pinnatipartite, pinnatifid, pinnatilobed, basal leaves petioled, cauline ones sessile, margin incised, dentate or serrate rarely entire, bristly or glabrous. Inflorescence panicle, raceme, adpressed setose. Flowers bisexual, solitary on long pedicels or on scapose stems, ebracteate, buds subglobose to ovoid, Sepals 2 rarely 3, free, deciduous, ovate-orbicular, early caducous, petals 4 sometimes 6, obovate, slightly clawed or not, red, orange, yellow, white or purplish. Stamens numerous, filaments filiform or dilated, anthers linear or oblong. Ovary ovoid, unilocular, superior, glabrous or setose, ovules numerous, stigmas 4-20, on disc crenate margin to deeply dissected, stigmatic rays opposite to placentas. Fruits capsules, globular, cylindric to subcylindric, ellipsoid-obovoid, dehiscing by subapical pores or persistent disc. Seeds many, bean shaped, reticulate-alveolate, reniform, black, brown, gray or white, albumin fleshy, rich in oil.

Papaver species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: April-July/July-September.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., dispersal by wind, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Erect annual herbs, about 30-50 cm tall. Stem simple or sparsely branched, setose, caulescent, hirsute, covered with stiff bristles, about 1-3 mm long or rarely glabrous. Leaves pinnatisect, pinnatipartite and pinnatifid about 6-20 x 3-9 cm across, basal leaves pinnatisect, ovate in outline, margin ciliate, dentate, segments linear, apex acute, terminal lobes larger than the lateral lobes, basal and lower leaves, larger and less segmented, and petiolate, upper cauline leaves becoming smaller, base amplexicaul, more dissected, sessile towards the shoots. Peduncles erect, hirsute or coarsely tuberculate hairy, about 12-25 cm long. Flowers bisexual, solitary, terminal, bowl shaped, about 6-10 cm across, red with black at the base, flower buds obovoid, somewhat cup shaped or blunt at the apex, bristly about 1.5-3 x 1-2 cm across, Sepals 2, free, deciduous, ovate-orbicular, early caducous, bristly, petals 4, broadly obovate, suborbicular, red with black blotch at the base, about 3-5 x 3-6 cm across. Stamens numerous, about 10 mm long, filaments filiform, slender, purplish, anthers elliptic, about 1 mm long. Ovary ovoid, unilocular, superior, glabrous, about 7-10 mm long, ovules numerous, stigmatic rays disc yellow, opposite to placentas, about 8-13. Fruits capsules, oblong-obovoid, cylindrical, about 10-18 x 6-9 mm across, dehiscing by subapical pores or persistent disc. Seeds many, bean shaped, reniform, dark brown.

Papaver species are susceptible to insect pests, moulds and rusts.

Notes: Western Ghats, Cultivated, Native of Eurasia

Wet places

Cultivated, found near roadsides and fields.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Used in Folk, Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicine. Latex from the fruit capsule slightly has sedative and narcotic properties.