44 



DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



one of its varieties, called the black poppy (on account of its black seeds), are 

 the plants that produce the opium of commerce. The P. somniferum is called 

 the white poppy, on account of its white seeds. Nos. 1, 2, and 4 are found in 

 and near cultivated grounds in the United States. 



1. P. Khoeas, L. (Corn Poppy of Great Britain.) Stem hairy, 2 feet high, 

 many-flowered. Leaves glaucous, pinnatifid, incised. Flowers large, showy, 



scarlet, sometimes variegated 

 and double, seed-vessel globose 

 or oval. 



2. P. dubium, L. (Long- 

 leaved Poppy.) Stem slender, 

 2 feet high, clothed with spread- 

 ing hairs. Leaves pinnate ; 

 leaflets deep-toothed and cut. 

 Flowers light-red, sometimes 

 scarlet, smaller than the P. 

 somniferum. Flower-stalk slen- 

 der and hairy ; sepals hairy ; 

 seed-vessels club-shaped. 



3. P. somniferum, Linn. 

 (Opium Poppy. Garden Poppy.) 

 Stem 1| to3 feet high, erect, 

 cylindrical, glaucous - green, 

 smooth below, with scattered 

 soft hairs near the summit, 

 branching. Leaves alternate, 

 clasping, deeply toothed or cut, 

 whole plant smooth and glau- 

 cous. Flowers large, terminal, 

 bluish-purple or white ; petals 4, 

 edged at base with a purple bor- 

 der. Stamens many, attached 

 to the receptacle ; filaments 

 bristle-like ; anthers oblong, 

 blunt, flattened, and erect. Fruit 

 globose, 1 inch to 1| inches in 

 diameter, crowned with the 

 broad, persistent, radiating 

 stigma; the margin of stigma 

 deflexed. Seed-vessel 1-celled, 

 with wedge-like processes ex- 

 tending half-way to the center, 

 to which the seeds are attached. 

 Seeds kidney-shaped, whitish, 



numerous. It is said that Linnaeus counted 32,000 in one cell, or seed-vessel. 

 The seed-vessel, when wounded, discharges a thick, creamy juice. 



4. P. orientals, L. Stem 3 feet high, rough, terminated with one rich scarlet- 

 colored flower. Leaves pinnate, rough ; leaflets serrate. Seed-vessel subglobose 

 and smooth. 



Geography. — Gardens and cultivated grounds, for ornament. (Adv. from 

 Levant.) The geographical home of the poppy is the southern edge of the 



Papaver Rh(EAs (Corn Poppy). 



