The Poppy and its family (Part 1)

Papaver rhoeas in bean field – Lodge Lane, Kingswinford (picture by Mike Poulton)

This week I’d like to talk about the Common Poppy or Papaver rhoeas, which is a symbol in Britain for the millions of casualties in the First World War and since.

It belongs to the  Papaveraceae or Poppy family which is number 34 in Stace.

This weekend we will have Remembrance Sunday here  which is always the nearest Sunday to Armistice * Day (on 11-11). This was signed at 5 am on the 11th November, 1918 to be precise but all the fighting ceased at 11 am, so exactly 100 years ago!

*Armistice means: a Ceasefire or suspension of hostilities or also an agreement made by opposing sites to stop fighting for a certain time or a truce.

Papaver, also ‘pappa’, is the Latin word for food or milk and ‘rhoeas’ means red in Greek.

Contents:

Papaver cambricum or Welsh Poppy
Papaver spp.

* Edible uses:   * Medicinal uses: * Other uses:

Papaver somniferum or Opium Poppy
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