A poppy is any of a number of showy flowers, typically with one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. This article is about the Iranian province for similar uses see Azerbaijan (disambiguation. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also A stem is one of two main structural axes of a Vascular plant. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous boarder and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.

The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red and blue; some have dark center markings. White is a Color, the perception which is evoked by Light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive Cone cells in the Human eye Pink is a pale Red Color that was first recorded in the 17th century to describe the pale red Flowers of pinks, Flowering plants Yellow is the Color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M (long and medium wavelength Cone cells of the Retina about equally The colour orange occurs Red is any of a number of similar Colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of Light discernible by the human eye in the wavelength Blue is a Colour, the Perception of which is evoked by The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. The center of the flower has a whorl of stamens surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six petals. The stamen ( Plural stamina or stamens, from Latin stamen meaning "thread of the warp " is the male A petal (from Ancient Greek petalon "leaf" "thin plate" regarded as a highly modified leaf is one member or part of the corolla Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away. In Botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic Shoot and normally occurs in the Axil of a Leaf or at the tip of the stem

Poppies may be found in the genera:

• Meconopsis – Himalayan poppy, Welsh poppy and relatives. The Corn Poppy, Field Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Red Poppy is the wild Poppy of agricultural cultivation&mdash Papaver rhoeas. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Meconopsis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Papaveraceae. The Welsh poppy ( Meconopsis cambrica) (2n=28 is a perennial plant of the family Papaveraceae.
• Papaver – Iceland poppy, Oriental poppy, Opium poppy, corn poppy and about 120 other species. Papaver is a Genus of poppies, belonging to the Poppy family ( Papaveraceae) The Iceland Poppy ( Papaver nudicaule syn Papaver croceum P amurense P The Oriental poppy ( Papaver orientale) is a perennial Poppy of the genus Papaver. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of Poppy from which Opium and many refined opiates such as Morphine, Thebaine The Corn Poppy, Field Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Red Poppy is the wild Poppy of agricultural cultivation&mdash Papaver rhoeas.
• Romneya – Matilija poppy and relatives. The Matilija poppy or tree poppy ( Romneya Harvey) is a Poppy of Southern California and Northern Mexico, belonging The Matilija poppy or tree poppy ( Romneya Harvey) is a Poppy of Southern California and Northern Mexico, belonging
• Eschscholzia – California poppy and relatives. Eschscholzia is a Genus of 12 flowering plants in the Papaveraceae ( Poppy) family The California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2000m (6500 feet altitude in the western United States throughout
• Stylophorum – Celandine-poppy, mock poppy, yellow-poppy, wood-poppy. Stylophorum, also known as the celandine poppies, is a genus in the poppy family Papaveraceae.
• Argemone – Prickly-poppy
• Canbya – Pygmy-poppy
• Stylomecon – Wind-poppy
• Arctomecon – Desert bearclaw-poppy
• Hunnemannia – Tulip poppy
• Dendromecon – Tree poppy

The pollen of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, is dark blue. Argemone ( Prickly Poppy) is a genus of the family Papaveraceae. Canbya, also known as the "pygmy poppies" is a Genus of the poppy family Papaveraceae consisting of two species found in the dry parts of Arctomecon is a Genus of the poppy family Papaveraceae commonly called the bear poppies or bear-paw poppies, after the distinctive Hunnemannia fumariifolia, also known as the tulip poppy or Mexican tulip poppy is a poppy from the highlands of Mexico. Dendromecon, the tree poppy is a genus of one or two species of Shrubs to small Trees native to California and northern Baja California Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of microgametophytes ( pollen grains) which produce the male Gametes (sperm cells of The pollen of the field poppy or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is dark blue to grey. Bees will use poppies as a pollen source. Bees are flying Insects closely related to Wasps and Ants Bees are a Monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea The term pollen source is often used in the context of Beekeeping and refers to flowering plants as a source of Pollen for bees or other insects

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is grown for opium, opiates or seeds to be used in cooking and baking, eg. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of Poppy from which Opium and many refined opiates such as Morphine, Thebaine Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( For other uses see Opiate (disambiguation, or for the class of drugs see Opioid. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored poppy seed rolls.

Contents 1 Symbolism 1.1 War Poetry 1.2 Persian Literature 2 False positive drug tests 3 Food and drink 4 The poppy in literature 5 Gallery 6 See also 7 References

Symbolism

Poppies have long been used as a symbol of both sleep and death: sleep because of the opium extracted from them, and death because of their (commonly) blood-red color. In Greco-Roman myths, poppies were used as offerings to the dead. ^[1] Poppies are used as emblems on tombstones to symbolize eternal sleep. A headstone, tombstone or gravestone is a marker normally carved from stone, placed over or next to the site of a Burial This aspect was used, fictionally, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to create magical poppy fields, dangerous because they caused those who passed through them to sleep forever. ^[2]

A second meaning for the depiction and use of poppies in Greco-Roman myths is the symbolism of the bright scarlet colour as signifying the promise of resurrection after death. ^[3]

The poppy of wartime remembrance is the red corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The Corn Poppy, Field Poppy, Flanders Poppy, or Red Poppy is the wild Poppy of agricultural cultivation&mdash Papaver rhoeas. This poppy is a common weed in Europe and is found in many locations, including Flanders Fields. WEED (1390 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Spanish format For the article about the war poem see In Flanders Fields. For the book by Leon Wolff, see In Flanders Fields This is because the corn poppy was one of the only plants that grew on the battlefield. It thrives in disturbed soil, which was abundant on the battlefield due to intensive shelling. During the few weeks the plant blossomed, the battlefield was coloured blood red, not just from the red flower that grew in great numbers but also from the actual blood of the dead soldiers that lay scattered and untended to on the otherwise barren battlegrounds. Thus the plant became a symbol for the dead World War I soldiers. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All In many Commonwealth countries and in the United States, artificial, paper or plastic versions of this poppy are worn to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I and other wars, during the weeks preceding Remembrance Day on November 11. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products Remembrance Day also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates or Veterans Day is a day to commemorate the Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare It has been adopted as a symbol by The Royal British Legion in their Poppy Appeal.

In North America, poppies are known as Clown Shoes by the Royal Canadian Legion, who sell them each fall prior to Remembrance Day. The Royal Canadian Legion is a Non-profit Canadian Ex-service organization ( Veterans Organization) founded in 1925 with more than The design of the Canadian poppy has changed recently. Formerly the poppy was red plastic with a felt lining with a green centre held on by a pin. The green was to represent the green fields of France. In 2002 the design was changed with some small controversy to a black centre. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. This is to reflect the actual colour of the French poppy. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

In New Zealand and Australia, paper poppies are widely distributed by the Returned Services Association leading up to ANZAC day (April 25th).

The golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is the state flower of California. The California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2000m (6500 feet altitude in the western United States throughout California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

War Poetry

Poppies stand as a prominent feature of In Flanders Fields, one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed by front-line personnel during the First World War. " In Flanders Fields " is one of the most famous Poems written during the First World War, and has been called "the most popular poem" produced during World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All It was written by John McCrae, a doctor serving in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, and appeared for the first time in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915. Lieutenant Colonel John Alexander McCrae ( November 30, 1872 &ndash January 28, 1918) was a Canadian Poet Events 1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room the second public library of Europe. Year 1915 ( MCMXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below
(excerpt)

Persian Literature

In Persian literature, red poppies, especially red corn poppy flowers, are considered the flower of love. They are often called the eternal lover flower.

False positive drug tests

Although the drug opium is produced by "milking" latex from the unripe fruits ("seed pods") rather than from the seeds, all parts of the plant can contain or carry the opium alkaloids, especially morphine and codeine. Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( Medical uses Morphine can be used as an analgesic in hospital settings to relieve pain in Myocardial infarction pain in Codeine ( INN) or methylmorphine is an Opiate used for its Analgesic, antitussive and antidiarrheal properties This means that eating foods (e. g. , muffins) that contain poppy seeds can result in a false positive for opiates in a drug test. A muffin is somewhat like a small Cake, and though it does resemble a Cupcake in that they both have cylindrical bases and rounded conical tops they usually

While made popular in the sitcom Seinfeld, this was considered "confirmed" by the presenters of the television program MythBusters. Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons The cast of the television series MythBusters performs experiments to verify or debunk Urban legends Old wives' tales and the like MythBusters is a Popular science Television program produced by Australian firm Beyond Television Productions originally for the One participant, Adam Savage, who ate an entire loaf of poppy seed cake, tested positive for opiates just half an hour later. Adam Whitney Savage (born 15 July 1967 is an American Industrial design and Special effects engineer actor educator and co-host of the Discovery See also Bread, Meatloaf A loaf is a shaped usually rounded or oblong mass of food Cake is a form of Food that is usually sweet and often baked. A second participant, Jamie Hyneman, who ate three poppy seed bagels, first tested positive two hours after eating. James Earl "Jamie" Hyneman (born September 25 1956 is an American Visual effects expert best known for being the co-host of the Television series A bagel is a bread product, traditionally made of Yeasted Wheat dough in the form of a roughly hand-sized ring which is first boiled in water and then baked Both tested positive for the remainder of the day, but were clean eighteen hours later. The show Brainiac: Science Abuse also did experiments where a priest ate several poppy seed bagels and gave a sample, which also resulted in a false positive. Brainiac Science Abuse (often shortened to simply Brainiac) is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif

The results of this experiment are inconclusive, because a test was used with an opiate cutoff level of 300 ng/mL instead of the current SAMHSA recommended cutoff level used in the NIDA 5 test, which was raised from 300 ng/mL to 2,000 ng/mL in 1998 in order to avoid false positives from poppy seeds [1]. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA is the US Federal agency charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention treatment and rehabilitative For the episode of the American television series The Office, see " Drug Testing " However, according to an article published in the Medical Science Law Journal, after ingesting "a curry meal or two containing various amounts of washed seeds" where total morphine levels were in the range 58. 4 to 62. 2 µg/g seeds, the urinary morphine levels were found to range as high as 1. 27 µg/mL (1,270 ng/mL) urine [2]. Another article in the Journal of Forensic Science reports that concentration of morphine in some batches of seeds may be as high as 251 µg/g [3]. In both studies codeine was also present in the seeds in smaller concentrations. Therefore it is possible to cross the current standard 2,000 ng/mL limit of detection, depending on seed potency and quantity ingested. In Analytical chemistry, the detection limit, lower limit of detection, or LOD (limit of detection is the lowest quantity of a substance that can be distinguished Some toxicology labs still continue to use a cutoff level of 300 ng/mL [4].

The sale of poppy seeds from Papaver somniferum is banned in Singapore due to the morphine content. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of Poppy from which Opium and many refined opiates such as Morphine, Thebaine Singapore Poppy seeds are also banned in Saudi Arabia due to various religious and drug control reasons. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi ^[4]

Food and drink

Poppy is widely consumed in many parts of Central and Eastern Europe. The sugared, milled mature seeds are eaten with pasta, or they are boiled with milk and used as filling or topping on various kinds of sweet pastry.

Poppy seeds are widely used in Bengali cuisine and in Oriya cuisine. Bengali cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in Bengal, a region in the eastern South Asia which is now divided between the Indian state of Oriya cuisine relates to the cooking of the eastern Indian state of Orissa.

In Mexico, Grupo Modelo, the makers of Corona beer, until the 1960s used red poppy flowers in its advertising, where almost any image it used had poppy flowers somewhere in the image.

The poppy in literature

What may be the most famous literary use of the poppy occurs both in L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and in MGM's classic 1939 film based on the novel. Lyman Frank Baum ( May 15 1856 &ndash May 5 1919) was an American Author, Actor, and Independent filmmaker The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical - Fantasy film mainly directed by Victor Fleming and based on the 1900 children’s

In the novel, while on their way to the Emerald City, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion walk through a field of poppies, and the opium from the flowers puts both Dorothy and the Lion to sleep. Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies ( The Scarecrow and the Tin Man, not being made of flesh and blood, are unaffected. They carry Dorothy to safety and place her on the ground beyond the poppy field. While they are considering how to help the Lion, a field mouse runs in front of them, fleeing a cougar. The Tin Man beheads the cougar with his axe, and the field mouse pledges her eternal gratitude. Being the Queen of the Field Mice, she gathers all her subjects together. The Tin Man cuts down several trees, and builds a wagon. The Lion is pushed onto it, and the mice pull the wagon safely out of the poppy field.

In the 1939 film, the sequence is considerably altered. The poppy field is conjured up by the Wicked Witch of the West, and it appears directly in front of the Emerald City, preventing the four travelers from reaching it. The Wicked Witch of the West (or simply The Wicked Witch) is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L As in the novel, Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion fall asleep, but in a direct reversal of the book, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man are unable to carry Dorothy. Glinda, who has been watching over them, conjures up a snowfall which kills the poppies and enables Dorothy and the Lion to awaken. Glinda (or Glinda the Good Witch) is a Fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L Unfortunately, the Tin Man has been weeping in despair, and the combination of his tears and the wet snow has caused him to rust. After he is oiled by Dorothy, the four skip happily toward the Emerald City.

Gallery

Close-up of an Oriental poppy (Papaver orientale). Ontario, Canada. June 2002.	A poppy bud and plant.	Immature crowning Opium Poppy, top view. Opium is a Narcotic formed from the Latex (ie sap released by lacerating (or "scoring" the immature seed pods of opium poppies (	A poppy bud opening.
Papaver somniferum seeds.	Papaver rhoeas.	Closeup of a poppy flower in private garden, Derbyshire, England, UK, May 2007. History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle	Close up view of a poppy bloom (and buds in the background). Papaver somniferum. See Opium Poppy. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of Poppy from which Opium and many refined opiates such as Morphine, Thebaine
Closeup of a poppy flower at the Monastery of Lorch, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states ( Bundesländer) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.	California Poppy. The California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica) is native to grassy and open areas from sea level to 2000m (6500 feet altitude in the western United States throughout	Field of poppies, from a photograph by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, taken ca. Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky ( August 31, 1863, Murom  &ndash September 27, 1944, Paris) was a Russian 1912. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting	A wild field of poppies, above the Wye Valley, UK, in June 2006. The Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB is an internationally important protected landscape straddling the border between England and Wales. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Poppies near Kelling, North Norfolk, UK, in June 2002

See also

• Remembrance Day
• "In Flanders Fields"
• Morphine
• Heroin
• Opium

References

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