Papaver
(the old Latin name, used by Pliny, &c.). Poppy. ORD. Papaveraceae. A genus comprising about fourteen species of hardy or half-hardy, hispid or glaucous, annual or perennial herbs, with milky juice; one is South African, another extra-tropical Australian, and the rest are found in the temperate or sub-tropical regions of Asia, North Africa, and Europe; four are truly natives of Britain, and a fifth--the Opium Poppy--is naturalised here and there. Flowers red, violet, yellow, or white, showy; sepals two, rarely three; petals four, rarely six; stamens many; peduncles elongated; flower-buds nodding. Leaves usually lobed or dissected. The cultivation of this genus is very simple, the most suitable soil being a sandy loam. The species and varieties are admirable subjects for borders, and for naturalising in woody spots. Propagation is freely effected by seeds, or by divisions. All the plants described below are hardy.
P. alpinum (alpine).* fl. yellow, rose-tinted, or white; sepals covered with long, adpressed hairs. Summer. l. hispid or glabrous, once or twice pinnatisect, with narrow, sub-linear or elliptic lobes; hairs spreading or adpressed. h. 6in. From a botanical point of view, this and P. nudicaule are really but one species; in cultivation, however, P. alpinum is a dwarfer, more slender plant, and has, generally, citron-yellow flowers.
P. bracteatum (bracteate).* fl. red, bracteate; sepals scabrous. May. l. or bracts pinnati-partite, hispid; lobes oblong, serrated, deeply incised. h. 4ft. Caucasus, 1817. Strictly speaking, this is only a marked variety of P. orientale. See Fig. 27. (B. M. 658; L. C. B. 23.)
P. Hookeri (Hooker's).* fl. varying from pale rose to crimson-scarlet, with a diffused white or blue-black blotch at the base; stigmatic rays twelve to twenty. Autumn. India, 1884. An ornamental plant, resembling P. Rhaeas in general aspect, but forming a large bushy herb 3ft. to 4ft. high. (B. M. 6729.) P. horridum (horrid). fl. brick or red-colour; sepals hispid. July. l. sub-amplexicaul, glaucous, sinuato-pinnatifid, the lobules prickly at the apices and on the nerves. Stem few-flowered, with rigid prickles, very hispid. h. 2ft. Australia and South Africa, 1825. (S. B. F. G. 173; B. M. 3623, under name of P. gariepinum.)
P. lateritium (brick-red). fl. bright orange, about 2in. across, withobovate petals, and sepals covered on the back with long yellow hairs. May. l. linear-elliptical, pinnatifid at the base; those of the root densely crowded together, 6in. to 12in. long, and 1/2in. or more broad; the lower segments much divided, the upper ones few and coarsely serrated; stem leaves much smaller and nearly sessile. h. 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. Armenia.
P. nudicaule (naked-stemmed).* fl. bright orange, yellow, or white, large and very showy, with nearly orbicular petals, and rather pilose sepals. Summer. l. pinnate, glaucous; segments finely cut into acute lobes. h. 9in. to 18in. Mountains of Northern hemisphere, 1759. A beautiful alpine perennial. (S. B. F. G. 247.)
P. n. croceum (golden). fl. orange-yellow or saffron, large and showy, with the petals slightly waved at the margin. Summer. l. erect, glaucous underneath, delicate green on the upper side, rough, with spreading hairs. h. 8in. to 15in. Siberia, 1829. A pretty perennial, resembling Meconopsis cambrica in habit. (B. M. 2344, under name of P. croceum.)
P. orientale (Eastern).* fl. deep scarlet, usually with a dark purple spot at the base of each petal, 6in. or more across; sepals three. Early summer. l. pinnate, about 1ft. long, clothed with white bristly hairs. Stem rough and leafy. h. 2ft. to 3ft. Armenia, 1714. A well-known plant, and one of the showiest of hardy perennials. (B. M. 57.) There are several more or less distinct varieties, including concolor, which has no spots at the base of the petals; and triumphans, a very floriferous and dwarfer habited form. P. pavonium (peacock-like). fl. scarlet, with a black horseshoe-shaped blotch at the base of each petal; ovary and capsule setose. Summer. l. rather small, bipinnatifid. Central Asia, 1883. (R. G. 1095, f. 3-4.)
P. persicum (Persian). fl. brick-red; sepals setose. June. l. pinnatifid, setose; segments almost undivided, often aristate. Stems leafy, paniculate. h. 1 1/2ft. Persia, 1830. (B. R. 1570.)
P. pilosum (pilose).* fl. pale lurid scarlet, or intense orange, with a white mark at the bottom of each petal. Stem many-flowered, with spreading hairs. Summer. l. stem-clasping, cut, pilose on both surfaces. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Bithynia and Mount Olympus. Plant about the size of P. somniferum, but pale green, not glaucous. A very showy perennial. (B. M. 4749, under name of P. nudicaule.)
P. Rhaeas (common field).* Common Corn Poppy, Redweed, Wind Rose, &c. fl. brilliant scarlet, large. Stem many-flowered, scabrous, with spreading bristles. Summer. l. pinnate-parted, the lobes elongated and deeply toothed, acute. h. 1ft. Europe (Britain), North Africa, West Asia. (Sy. En. B. 58.) This well-known annual has produced innumerable varieties under cultivation, both double (see Fig. 28) and single. The garden strains, respectively known as the Carnation, Picotee, and Ranunculus-flowered Poppies, are double forms of this species.
P. R. umbrosum (shaded).* fl. of a dazzling scarlet, with a jet-black blotch on the inner base of each petal, which is sometimes margined with ashy-grey; scapes long, one-flowered. Summer. h. 2ft. Caucasus, 1877. (G. C. n. s., xxii. 49.)
P. setigerum (bristly). fl. violet; capsule obovate, not stipitate. Summer. A near ally of the Opium Poppy, but differing from it in having the teeth of the leaves terminating in a stiff bristle, and in the simple or slightly branched stem ending in two or three elongated peduncles, which, as well as the leaves, are hairy. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Europe, Asia. (S. B. F. G. 172.) Of this Poppy, numerous fine strains have originated in gardens.
P. somniferum (sleep-causing).* Opium Poppy. fl. variously coloured, white, rose, lilac, violet, often striped, and usually with a darker spot at the base of the petals, the latter fringed in some varieties. Stem many-flowered, smooth. July. l. oblong-am-plexicaul, sinuate, glaucous, broad, waved, lobed, cordate at the base. h. 3ft. to 4ft. Europe, Asia, West Africa, India, and naturalised in many parts of this country. Annual. (B. M. Pl. 18). Opium is the inspissated milky juice of this species, obtained by making incisions in the capsule. The seeds are destitute of narcotic quality, and may be eaten; they are sold as birds' food, under the name of Maw Seed. The name paeoniae-florum is given in gardens to a select strain of this species with very double, Paeony-like flowers. What is grown in gardens under the name of Danebrog Poppy (see Fig. 29), is also a strain of this species. P. Murselli is another garden strain, with double flowers and fringed petals (see Fig. 30).