WILD FLOWERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 
in gardens. Sepals 2, falling quickly ; petals 4, crumpled in bud ; stamens numerous, with 
filaments thickening up to the yellow anthers. Fruit a capsule, round and smooth. Stem 1-2 
feet high, scarcely branched ; leaves oblong, heart-shaped (cordate) at the base, clasping the 
stem (amplexicaul), toothed, wavy, or lobed, of a bluish-green (glaucous). This is the cultivated 
opium poppy, so valuable for the thick white juice with which the whole plant, and particularly 
the capsules, abound ; this juice dries into a tough pale-brown substance, opium, invaluable 
among our drugs. 
Rare. Not a native. Waste places, especially near the sea. June — August. Annual. 
Common Red Poppy. (Papaver Rhceas, Linn.)— Flowers 3-4 inches across. Sepals 2, 
falling quickly ; petals 4, crumpled in bud, bright scarlet, often black at the base ; stamens 
numerous, with green anthers. Capsule smooth and roundish. Stem 1-2 feet high, with spreading 
hairs ; leaves lobed to the mid-rib (pinnatifid), sometimes again lobed (bi-pinnatifid). 
Common. Corn and other cultivated fields. June — July. Annual. [ Plate 7. 
Long- Smooth-headed Poppy. (Papaver dubium, Linn.)— Very similar to the 
Common Red Poppy, but with rather smaller flowers, more slender and shorter stems with less 
spreading hairs, leaves more cut into shorter and narrower lobes, and a smooth oblong capsule. 
Common. Corn and other cultivated fields. June — July. Annual. 
Long- Prickly-headed Poppy. (Papaver Argemone, Linn.)— Flowers still smaller, 
less than 2 inches across, light scarlet or rose, with deep purple-black bases, often spotted. 
Stamens with blue anthers. Capsule oblong, with scattered bristly hairs. [As described in the 
genus Poppy (Papaver).] Stem 6-10 inches high, hairs pressed to the stem; leaves very deeply 
lobed to the mid-rib (pinnatifid), the lobes being again and again lobed (bi- or tri-pinnatifid). 
Rather common. Cornfields, waysides, especially on a sandy or gravelly soil. May — July. Annual. 
Round Prickly-headed Poppy. (Papaver hybridum, Linn.)— Flowers small, 1^-2 
inches across, crimson, with a purplish-black spot at the base, and stamens with blue anthers. 
[As described in the genus Poppy (Papaver).] Capsule round, with spreading bristle-like hairs. 
Stem 10-18 inches high, with hairs pressed to the stem; leaves very deeply lobed from the 
mid-rib (pinnatifid), the lobes being again and again lobed (bi- or tri-pinnatfid). 
Not common. Corn-fields and waste places, especially on a chalky or sandy soil. May — July. 
Annual. 
WELSH POPPY. (MECONOPSIS, VIG.)— Flowers solitary, on long stalks, drooping in bud. 
Sepals 2, falling when the flower opens ; petals 4, crumpled in bud, soon falling (fugacious) ; 
stamens numerous ; carpel with a stigma of 4-6 free spreading lobes, and a short persistent style. 
Fruit a capsule opening at the top by as many short valves as there are stigmatic lobes. Herbs 
with a yellowish juice and lobed leaves. 
Common Welsh Poppy. (Meeonopsis cambrica, Vig.)— The only British species 
(as just described). The flowers large, 2|— 3 inches across, pale yellow, and the capsule oblong, 
with a distinct short style crowned with the 4-6 rayed stigma. The stem 6-18 inches high, erect and 
slender, and the leaves on long stalks divided from the mid-rib into distinct leaflets (pinnate) with 
lobed segments. [ Plate 7. 
Very rare. Rocky places in Ireland, Wales and the western counties of England. June — July. 
Perennial. 
HORNED POPPY. (GLAUCIUM, HALL.) — Flowers large and showy, with erect buds. Sepals 
2, falling when the flower opens ; petals 4, twisted in bud (convolute) ; stamens numerous ; carpel 
