PAPAVER 



PAPA VEB (old Latin name of dubious derivation). 

 Papaverhcea. Poppy. Poppies rank among the most 

 popular annual flowers in cultivation. From their as- 

 tonishing range of color, and 

 from the formidable list of 

 names given below, one might 

 suppose their botany very 

 rtunplieated. It is, however, 

 easy to understand. There 

 arc ..nly 4 species commonly 

 cultivated and these are all 

 arkably distinct. They 

 (1) the Opium Poppy, (2) 

 the Corn Poppy, (3) the 

 Iceland Poppy and (4) 

 the Oriental Poppy. 



1. The Opium Poppy, 



P. somniferum, one of 



and the 



PAPAVER 



1205 



of P 



most variable. It is an an- 

 nual, of tall, stately habit, 

 and recognized at once bv 

 the glaucous hue of its foil 

 age. The flowers are tin 

 largest of any of the annual 

 species, but unfortunatel\ 

 they are useless as cut-flow- 

 ers because they drop their 

 petals. 



2. The Com Poppy of 

 Europe, P. RlKzas, is also 



an annual, but a dwarfer plant, with green, hairy, finel. 

 cut foliage and smaller flowers. This is the delight "f 1 

 every American that visits Europe. The Shirley Pop- 

 pies are the best strain of this species; in our gardens 

 the flowers last longer than the common Poppies and 

 the plants are neater when out of bloom. 



3. The Iceland Poppy, P. nudieaiile, is the glory of 

 the Arctic regions. It ranges over an immense territory 

 and varies remarkably both in the wild and the garden. 

 Orange, red and white are the chief colors, besides 

 shades of yellow, but the flowers never attain the 

 brilliant scarlet of the Corn Poppy. Although the 

 Iceland Poppy is a perennial, it is sluut Im .1 ami is 

 commonly treated as an annual. It i- knnwii toi the 

 satiny texture and crimpled chai.n t. i .it it- petals. 

 The flowers are excfUciit f..r . uttii.i.' , ~p. . i.ilh if 

 the young flower- n - -1. I ' mil cut in the earh 

 morning, a prith i, ' 1ms to many flow<i- 

 often supposed t.i I liome decoration. 



4. The Oriental I' ; , - . /' .lule, is a longer-lm d 

 perennial, and altliuu.;h ii h i- the largest flowers ot 

 any species in the genus it has nothing like the fame 

 of the Opium Poppy. However, it has the double ad- 

 vantage of being easily propagated by either seed or 

 division, and it has a considerable range of color, 

 which is said to be largely due to crosses with P. brac- 

 teattim. The latter may be only a botanical variety; it 

 differs in having large bracts below the flower. 



The other species are for the fancier. The Alpine 

 Poppy, P. alpiniiin, was considered by Linnseus to 

 be a distinct species from the Iceland Poppy " 

 ever, every gradation has been discovered between the 

 typical form of P. niidicaule of the arctic regions and 

 the common Poppy found in the Alps. The former has 

 a yellow flower, while the common Alpine Poppy is 

 white. Botanically, the Poppy of the Alps is generally 

 regarded as an extreme form of P. nudicatile, char- 



acterized by a dwarfer habit and more fljiely divided 

 foliage. For horticultural purposes P. midicaule and 

 alpiiiiini should be considered to be distinct species. 

 The Iceland Poppy can be easily grown in the border, 

 while the Alpine Poppy demands rock-garden treatment. 

 The fomicr does liest in a moderately rich and light loam, 

 while the latter does better in a rather poor soil. Both 

 need fill! exj.d-iire to the sun, and P. alpiinim probably 

 nec.N lietie, diaiiiai,'e. The form of P. alpiuum which 

 has Hiiite jHtaN ivith a green spot at the base niav be 



This is sli..,vi, i„ e,,i,:,. in 



Gn. 24:410, and also in Correvon's pcket ,.,,,.1, ,., ,i,e 

 wild flowers of the Alps, entitled Ph.r. . 

 Correvon states that the yellow-fld. feiin ,: 

 rum) is found in the granitic Alps, the inf. i, i„ , I,, i,,^. 

 that the white-fld. form is characteristic of the calca- 

 reous Alps. An orange-red Poppy is also found in the 

 Alps and on the continent is often called P. Pyrenai- 

 The tendency in England is to make it a variety 

 ule. Whether all these plants are species 

 <.r \ aiiitii s and how they should be named are matters 

 ..f . .1.1111. .11. The range of color has been indicated 

 al..i\ . Aside from color, the important points on which 

 these \ ai leties are made and imiiiade are as follows: the 

 degree of hairiness nt st, m .nei . ipsule: whether the 

 hairs are appressed oi ~].i. ..I,,,, ih, manner in which 

 the foliage is cut, ami tli. -Ii .| . . i the capsule, which 

 varies from short, thi. k .iml sul._rl.,li(ise to long, nar- 

 " ■ ' haped. 

 Papaver is a genus of about 50 species, mostly natives 

 of the Mediterranean region. There is, however, one in 

 South Africa and another in Australia. Also a true 

 Papaver has been discovered in California, and has 

 been named P. Cnlifoniii um. (The "California Poppy " 

 of gardens is Eschscholzia. ) Papa- 

 herbs with a milky juice, 

 smooth and often glau- 

 lly lobed or dissected: 

 nicies long: buds noddir 

 \ shade of red, violet, yellow 

 white: sepals 2; petals 4; sta- 

 s num. I. .11- sti_-in,itie lobes 4- 



made from the 

 .iuice of P. 



from shallow cuts 

 made in the young 

 capsules. The 

 seeds have no nar- 

 ic properties and 

 '" for bird 

 the name 



nial plants are 

 1 inter 

 esting. " At the 

 hybrid confer- 



Paris, gave a very interesting account 

 of a successful attempt at hybridizini 

 the Opium Poppy(P. sowuuVenou )wit] 

 P. orientate or P. bracteatum, th 



