Common name:
Opium poppy
Family:
Scientific name:
Papaver somniferum
Main flower color:
Range:
England, Wales, parts of Scotland and Ireland
Height:
Up to 80 cm
Habitat:
Roadsides, waste ground, arable fields; an introduced species
Flowers:
Large (up to 10 cm across); four overlapping, strongly-veined petals, pink to lilac, with a darker purple patch at the base. At the centre is a green, compound pistil and a ring of pale yellow stamens
Fruit:
A smooth, globular capsule, with a greyish waxy coating and a flattened disc at the tip
Leaves:
Hairless, oblong, glaucous, waxy, wavy along the margin, lined by large, irregular teeth
Season:
June to August
Rarity:
★★★★★
