30 



THE POFPY FAMILY. 



Opium Poppy. Papaver somniferum, Linn. (Pig. 35.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 2145. Garden Poppy.) 



An erect annual of a glaucous green, 

 glabrous, or with a few hairs on the pe- 

 duncle, scarcely branched, about 2 feet 

 high or more when cultivated. Leaves 

 clasping the stem by their cordate base, 

 oblong, irregularly toothed, and slightly 

 sinuate or lobed. Mowers large, usually 

 of a bluish- white, with a purple base. 

 Filaments slightly dilated at the top. 

 Capsule large, globular, and glabrous. 



A native of southern Europe and the 

 Levant, but much cultivated in European 

 gardens, and occasionally establishes 

 itself in waste places. In Britain it 

 assumes the appearance of a wild plant 

 in several parts of England, especially 

 near the sea, and in the fens of the 

 eastern counties. FL summer. It is 

 the species which supplies Opium and 



Poppy heads, and in our gardens varies much in the colour of the 



flowers, which are often very double. 



Fig. 35. 



2. Field Poppy. Papaver lihoeas, Linn. (Fig. 36.) 



(Eng. Bot. t. 645.) 



An erect, branched, annual, 1 to 2 feet 

 high or rarely more, with stiff spreading 

 hairs or bristles. Lower leaves large, 

 stalked, once or twice pinnately divided, 

 the lobes lanceolate, pointed and more or 

 less cut. Flowers large, of a rich scarlet, 

 with a dark eye, the filaments of the 

 stamens not dilated. Capsule perfectly 

 smooth, globular, or slightly top-shaped, 

 with 10 or more stigmatic rays. 



In waste and cultivated places, in cen- 

 tral and southern Europe and western 

 Asia, disappearing in the north. In 

 Britain chiefly a cornfield weed, abun- 

 dant in England and Ireland, less so in 

 Scotland, and scarce in the Highlands. FL all summer. Double- 

 flowering varieties are often cultivated. 



Fig. 36. 



