PAPAVEE 



POPPY OBDEB 



PAPAVEE 191 



kinds are useful for covering up mounds 

 of earth or bare places, iipon which little 

 else will flourish. They are easily raised 

 from seeds sown in spring or autumn 

 in the open border where they are to 

 bloom, the seedlings being in due course 

 thinned out. This process of thinning 

 out is adopted chiefly because annual 

 Poppies do not as a rule transplant well, 

 and as the seeds germinate so freely one 

 can afford to dispense with the surplus 

 seedHngs. The perennial kinds may also 

 be increased from seeds sown in spring 

 or autumn, or by division in early autumn, 

 so that they will have a chance to become 

 established before winter. But they are 

 often treated as annuals. 



P.alpinum. — A beautiful alpine Poppy 

 3-6 in. high, with smooth or hairy 

 leaves finely cut into acute lobed seg- 

 ments. Flowers in summer, yellow, rose- 

 tinted or white, the sepals being covered 

 with long adpressed hairs. Capsule 

 roimdish, prickly. 



Cultwre dc. as above. Eaised from 

 seeds annually. 



P. croceum. — A Siberian perennial 

 9-18 in. high, resembling Meconopsis 

 cambrica (p. 194) in habit. It has tufts 

 of erect radical leaves, Hght green above, 

 blue-green beneath, and more or less 

 covered with hairs. The large orange- 

 yellow flowers appear in summer, and 

 have the petals somewhat wavy on the 

 margins. There is a double-flowered 

 form of this species, which latter is now 

 regarded as a variety of P. nudicaule. 



Culture do. as above. Increased by 

 seed and division. 



P. glaucum ( Tuli^ Poppy) . — A brilliant 

 annual Poppy 1-2 ft. high, native of the 

 East, with thickish blue-green leaves, 

 oblong in shape and more or less out into 

 unequally toothed lobes. The showy 

 flowers appear, in summer, the two large 

 outer petals being of a deep scarlet red, 

 shaded with orange, while the two smaller 

 inner ones are of a similar hue, but more 

 or less united and forming a cup round 

 the violet-black stamens in the centre. 



Culture Ac. as above. Eaised annually 

 from seed. 



P. Hookeri. — An ornamental Indian 

 species, forming a bushy herb 3-4 ft. high, 

 and very much like the Common Corn 

 Poppy in appearance. The flowers appear 

 late in summer, and vary in colour from 



pale-rose to crimson-scarlet with a diffused 

 white or blue-black blotch at the base. 



Cultwre Sc. as above. Baised from 

 seeds annually. 



P. horridum. — A native of Australia 

 and S. Africa, having few-flowered hairy 

 stems, about 2 ft. high, furnished with 

 rigid prickles. The cut leaves are glau- 

 cous, with prickles on the nerves and 

 tips, and the pale red flowers with hairy 

 sepals appear in July. 



Culture dc. as above. Eaised from 

 seeds annually. 



P. laevigatum.— An annual Poppy 1-2 

 ft. high, native of the Caucasus. It has 

 somewhat glaucous pinnately cut leaves, 

 and large bright scarlet flowers, the petals 

 of which have a deep black blotch at the 

 base, and a border of white round the 

 edges. 



Culture dc. as above. Eaised from 

 seeds annually. 



P. lateritium. — An Armenian peren- 

 nial l|-2 ft. high, withlinear elliptic leaves, 

 cut at the base, and 6-12 in. long. The 

 bright orange flowers, about 2 in. across, 

 appear in early summer, the sepals being 

 covered with long yellow hairs. 



Culture do. as above. Increased by 

 seeds or division. 



P. nudicaule [Iceland Poppy). — A 

 beautiful alpine perennial 9-18 in. high, 

 native of Siberia, and the northern parts 

 of America. The glaucous pinnate leaves 

 are cut into fine acute lobed segments. 

 The showy flowers with roundish petals 

 and hairy sepals appear in summer, varying 

 in colour from bright orange to yellow 

 and white. 



Culture and Propagation. — Although 

 a perennial, the Iceland Poppy is best 

 treated as an annual, and the seed may 

 be sown in autumn or spring, according as 

 the flowers are required early or late the 

 following season. General cultivation as 

 above. 



P. orientale {Oriental Poppy). — A 

 brilliant Poppy 2-3 ft. high, native of 

 Armenia. It has rough, bristly, hairy 

 stems and leaves, the latter being a foot 

 or more long and piimately out. The 

 deep scarlet-crimson flowers, 6-8 in. across, 

 appear fr-om the end of May to July, 

 and have a black or piarplish blotch 

 at the base of each petal. The calyx has 

 3 sepals instead of 2 as in other species. 

 P. hraeteatum (often referred to as a 



