Plantsnap – Identify Plants, Trees, Mushrooms With An App

Corn Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

Description

Papaver rhoeas (common names include common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy or red poppy) is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. This poppy is notable as an agricultural weed (hence the common names including "corn" and "field") and after World War I as a symbol of dead soldiers. Papaver rhoeas topped the list in a UK study of meadow pollen production, on a per flower basis, with its rate of 13.3 ± 2.8l. The California poppy placed second with a rate of 8.3±1.1?l. The pollen production of Papaver rhoeas, on a per flower basis, was very high in comparison with the other plants tested, at almost triple the amount of the top-ranked perennial (a mallow). When sampled at the level of the entire capitulum, however, Papaver rhoeas was outranked by the ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare, with its 15.9 ± 2?l measurement. It tied with Cosmos bipinnatus. Neither poppy produced a significant quantity of nectar, making their role in meadow ecology specific to pollen-gathering/consuming insects. As poppies are not wind-pollinated, their pollen poses no allergy risk via inhalation. Before the advent of herbicides, P. rhoeas sometimes was so abundant in agricultural fields that it could be mistaken for a crop.[citation needed] Although the corn poppy (and its cultivars such as the Shirley Poppy) and the California poppy are grown on a large scale, Papaver somniferum, the breadseed poppy, has the largest farm production. Papaver rhoeas is a variable, erect annual, forming a long-lived soil seed bank that can germinate when the soil is disturbed. In the northern hemisphere it generally flowers in late spring, (between May and October in the UK,) but if the weather is warm enough other flowers frequently appear at the beginning of autumn. It grows up to about 70 cm in height. The stems hold single flowers, which are large and showy, 50 to 100mm across,:32 with four petals that are vivid red, most commonly with a black spot at their base. The petals slightly overlap each other. The plant can produce up to 400 flowers in a warm season, despite the flowers only lasting one day. The flower stem is usually covered with coarse hairs that are held at right angles to the surface, helping to distinguish it from Papaver dubium in which the hairs are more usually appressed (i.e. held close to the stem). The capsules are hairless, obovoid (egg-shaped), less than twice as tall as they are wide, with a stigma at least as wide as the capsule. Like many other species of Papaver, the plant exudes white to yellowish latex when the tissues are broken. Not all corn poppies that are available commercially have red flowers. Selective breeding has resulted in cultivars in yellow, orange, pink, and white. The Shirley Poppy is the most known cultivar. A very pale speckled variety, derived from the Shirley, is also available. A nearly black-flowering hybrid, known as Evelina, was bred in Italy in the late 1990s, with Papaver dubium, but does not appear to be available commercially.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum: Magnoliophyta

        • Class: Magnoliopsida

          • Order: Ranunculales

            • Family: Papaveraceae

              • Genus: Papaver