Papaver rhoeas
Papaver pygmaeum
amapola, common poppy, coquelicot, corn poppy, field poppy, flanders poppy
alpine poppy, dwarf poppy
simple or usually branching.
to 15 cm;
distal often somewhat clustered.
to 5 cm;
petiole to 2/3 length of leaf;
blade blue-green on both surfaces, broadly ovate, 2x-lobed with 2 pairs of primary lateral lobes, glabrous or sparsely hirsute;
primary lobes lanceolate to obovate, apex obtuse or rounded, sometimes bristle-tipped.
peduncle sparsely to moderately spreading-hispid throughout.
scapes erect or curved, sparsely hispid, trichomes spreading.
petals white, pink, orange, or red, often with dark basal spot, to 3.5 cm;
anthers bluish;
stigmas 5-18, disc ± flat.
to 2 cm diam.;
petals yellow, or orange with yellow basal spot, or orange-pink;
anthers yellow;
stigmas 4-5, disc convex.
sessile or substipitate, turbinate to subglobose, obscurely ribbed, to 2 cm, less than 2 times longer than broad.
obovoid to obconic, 2-2.5 times longer than broad, to 1.5 cm, strigose, trichomes light (ivory).
= 14.
Papaver rhoeas
Papaver pygmaeum
J. W. Kadereit (1990) suggested that Papaver rhoeas originated on the east coast of the Mediterranean, probably derived from one or more of the other species of the section that are native in that region, and only after (and because) "suitable habitats in sufficient extent were provided by man." Various forms with pale pink or white, unspotted, sometimes doubled petals are grown for ornament, notably the Shirley poppies. In North America, the species escapes from cultivation fairly readily and has been introduced also as a crop weed.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
This well-marked species has its closest relatives within the Papaver alpinum complex in the mountains of central and southern Europe, e.g., P. pyrenaicum (Linnaeus) Willdenow.
The report of 2n = 42, attributed by D. Löve and N. J. Freedman (1956) to A. C. Fabergé (1944), is an error; it is based on material from Pikes Peak, Colorado, where P. pygmaeum has not been found (D. F. Murray 1995).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
BC, 
CA, 
OR, 
WA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Flora NW, 
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants, 
PNW Herbaria 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
