Flora of North America species comparison

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Papaver somniferum

Papaver gorodkovii

common garden poppy, common poppy, opium poppy, pavot (commun)

arctic poppy
Habit Plants to 15 dm, glabrate, glaucous. Plants cespitose, sometimes densly so, to 1.5 dm.
Stems

simple or branching.

Leaves

to 30 cm;

blade sometimes sparsely setose abaxially on midrib;

margins usually shallowly to deeply toothed.

to 5 cm;

petiole 1/2-3/4 length of leaf;

blade light green abaxially, dark green adaxially, lanceolate, 1x-lobed with 1, occasionally 2, pairs of lateral lobes, hirsute;

terminal lobe occasionally with small secondary lobes, apex obtuse, rounded.
Inflorescences

peduncle often sparsely setose.

scapes erect, sparsely to densely hispid.
Flowers

petals white, pink, red, or purple, often with dark or pale basal spot, to 6 cm;

anthers pale yellow;

stigmas 5-18, disc ± flat.

to 3.5 cm diam.;

petals yellow or white;

anthers yellow;

stigmas 5-6, disc flat.
Capsules

stipitate, subglobose, not ribbed, to 9 cm, glaucous.

subglobose to obconic, to 1.2 cm, 1-2.5 times longer than broad, densely hirsute, trichomes dark brown or black.

Papaver somniferum

Papaver gorodkovii
Phenology Flowering spring–summer. Flowering Jul-early Aug.
Habitat Fields, clearings, stream banks, railroads, roadsides, and other disturbed sites Well-drained gravels of floodplain terraces and coastal arctic screes
Elevation 0-1300 m (0-4300 ft) 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CT; IL; MA; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OR; PA; TX; UT; VA; VT; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; SK; Greenland; Europe; Asia [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; Asia (Russian Far East)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Unknown in the wild, Papaver somniferum probably came originally from southeastern Europe and/or southwestern Asia. It has been cultivated for centuries as the source of opium (and its modern derivatives heroin, morphine, and codeine), and also for edible seeds and oil. Various color forms with laciniate and/or doubled petals are grown for ornament. Widely introduced from cultivation and also as a crop weed, it should be expected elsewhere in the flora.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

According to A. I. Tolmatchew and V. V. Petrovsky (1975), this species is known in Alaska also from the Seward Peninsula, presumably based on a specimen at LE (St. Petersburg), which we have not seen.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Papaveraceae > Papaver > sect. Papaver Papaveraceae > Papaver > sect. Meconella
Sibling taxa
P. alboroseum, P. argemone, P. californicum, P. dubium, P. gorodkovii, P. hybridum, P. lapponicum, P. macounii, P. mcconnellii, P. nudicaule, P. orientale, P. pygmaeum, P. radicatum, P. rhoeas, P. walpolei
P. alboroseum, P. argemone, P. californicum, P. dubium, P. hybridum, P. lapponicum, P. macounii, P. mcconnellii, P. nudicaule, P. orientale, P. pygmaeum, P. radicatum, P. rhoeas, P. somniferum, P. walpolei
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 508. (1753) Tolmatchew & Petrovsky: Bot. Zhurn. (Moscow & Leningrad) 58: 1128, fig. 1. (1973)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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