POPPY FAMILY 97 



Petals oblong or obovate, quickly deciduous. Capsule 1-celled, 2- 

 valved, the valves separating from the persistent placentse at ma^ 

 turity. In rich, open woods.* 



m. CHELIDONIUM L. 



Erect, branched, perennial herbs, with yellow juice. Leaves 

 much divided. Flowers yellow. Sepals 2, falling as the flower 

 opens. Petals 4. Ovary 1-celled ; style dilated at the top, 

 with 2 joined stigmas. Capsule linear. 



1. C. majus L. Celandine. Stem 1-2 ft. high, brittle, slightly 

 hairy, leafy. Leaves once or twice pinnate. Flowers small. A rather 

 common weed in yards and along fences. Naturalized from Europe. 



rv. PAPAVER L. 



Annual or perennial herbs with milky juice. Stem erect, 

 smooth, or rough-hairy, branching above. Leaves more or 

 less lobed or dissected. Flower buds nodding, flowers showy. 

 Sepals commonly 2, falling off as the flower opens. Petals 

 4-6. Stamens many. Stigma disk-like ; ovules many, borne 

 on many inwardly projecting placentae.* 



1. P. somniferum L. Opium Poppy. Annual. Stem erect, branched 

 above, smooth and with a bloom, 2-3 ft. high. Leaves oblong, irreg- 

 ularly lobed or cut, sessile, clasping. Flowers nearly white, with a 

 purple center, large and showy, on long peduncles. Capsule globose, 

 seeds minutely pitted. About old gardens and waste places. Culti- 

 vated in southern Asia, where the juice of the capsules is dried to 

 make opium.* 



2. P. Rhceas L. Cokn Poppy. Annual. Stem erect, hairy, 1-3 ft. 

 high. Lower leaves petioled, upper ones sessile, all pinnately cut, 

 the lobes serrate. Corolla scarlet, often with a dark center, 2-4 in. 

 in diameter. Capsule smooth, obovoid. "Waste ground^ sometimes 

 in fields. Introduced from Europe and often cultivated. 



3. P. dubium L. Smooth-Fruited Poppy. Annual. Stem slender, 

 branching, 1-2 ft. tall. Leaves pinnatifid, the lower petioled, the 

 upper sessile. Flowers large and showy, usually red ; capsule long- 

 obovoid, smooth. In cultivated ground. Both this and No. 1 are 

 often cultivated in gardens and produce double flowers.* 



4. P. orientale L. Oriental Poppy. A large, rough-hairy peren- 

 nial. Leaves large, deep green, almost pinnate. Flower very large, 

 deep red. Cultivated from the eastern Mediterranean region. 



