Papaver rhoeas

Papaver rhoeas is a variable, erect annual, forming a long-lived soil seed bank that can germinate when the soil is disturbed. In the Northern Hemisphere it generally flowers in late spring (between May and October in the UK) which are large and showy, across, with four petals that are vivid red, most commonly with a black spot at their base. The petals slightly overlap each other. Not all corn poppies that are available commercially have red flowers. Selective breeding has resulted in cultivars in yellow, orange, pink, and white. The Shirley poppy is a well-known cultivar. A very pale speckled variety, derived from the Shirley, is also available. A nearly black-flowering hybrid, known as 'Evelina', was bred in Italy in the late 1990s, with P. dubium, but does not appear to be available commercially. Phytochemistry Papaver rhoeas contains the alkaloid called rhoeadine, which is a mild sedative. Rhoeadic acid, papaveric acid and rhoeagenine are also found in this plant. ==Taxonomy==

It was formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication Species Plantarum in 1753. Papaver is the Latin word for poppy and rhoeas means the corn poppy in Greek. • '''Papaver rhoeas subsp. polytrichum'This subspecies was described as a species named Papaver polytrichum by Pierre Edmond Boissier and Theodor Kotschy in 1856. It was reclassified as a subspecies of Papaver rhoeas'' by Joseph Thiébaut in 1936. It is native to the eastern Mediterranean. • '''Papaver rhoeas subsp. rhoeas'''The autonymic subspecies is native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia and has been introduced to many other parts of the world. Papaver rhoeas has synonyms of the species or one of its two subspecies. A sterile hybrid with P. dubium is known, P. × hungaricum, that is intermediate in all characteristics with P. rhoeas. As poppies are not wind-pollinated, their pollen poses no allergy risk via inhalation. ==Distribution and habitat==

The species is found within Africa, in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Madeira Islands, and the Canary Islands. Within temperate Asia, it is found in the Caucasus regions of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ciscaucasia. In Western Asia, it is found in Afghanistan, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Within tropical Asia, it is found in Pakistan and India. Within Europe, it is found in Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, France, Portugal, and Spain. It grows in fields, beside roads, and on grasslands. It is hardy to between USDA Zone 8 and Zone 10, or down to 10 °F (−12 °C). == Uses ==

The commonly grown garden decorative Shirley poppy is a cultivar of this plant. and can be eaten either on their own or as an ingredient in bread, though the majority of poppy seeds harvested for culinary use are from the related species Papaver somniferum. In many Eastern European countries, poppy seeds are boiled in water or milk, and then ground together with honey or sugar to achieve a sweet, soft paste, often used generously in pastries. The petals contain a red dye which is used in some medicines and wines; also the dried petals are occasionally used to give colour to potpourris. In traditional folk medicine, it was used for gout, aches, and pains. The petals were used to create a syrup that was fed to children to help them sleep. == In culture ==

Due to the extent of ground disturbance in warfare during World War I, corn poppies bloomed between the trench lines and no man's lands on the Western front. Poppies are a prominent feature of "In Flanders Fields" by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, one of the most frequently quoted English-language poems composed during the First World War. During the 20th century, the wearing of a poppy at and before Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) each year became an established custom in English-speaking western countries. File:00MoinaMichael.jpg|United States commemorative stamp depicting Moina Michael and corn poppies File:Claude Monet - L'été - Champ de coquelicots.JPG|Claude Monet, Summer Field of Coquelicots, 1875 File:NZRSA remembrance poppy.jpg|An example of the artificial Flanders poppy, distributed in New Zealand by the RSA for Anzac Day File:200 lei. Romania, 2006 a.jpg|Corn poppies depicted on the obverse of the current Romanian 200 lei note, introduced in 2006 China In China, P. rhoeas is known as yumeiren (, meaning "Yu the Beauty"), after Consort Yu, the concubine of the warlord Xiang Yu. In 202 BC, when they were besieged in the Battle of Gaixia by the force of Liu Bang (founder of the Han dynasty), Consort Yu committed suicide; according to folklore, poppies grew out of the ground where Consort Yu fell, and P. rhoeas thus became a symbol of loyalty unto death. In 2010, P. rhoeas was at the centre of a diplomatic controversy between China and the United Kingdom; during an official visit to China, British Prime Minister David Cameron and his entourage rejected a demand from China to not wear the remembrance poppy, which the Chinese government had mistaken for the opium poppy, a plant that carries connotations of the Opium Wars in China. 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. In classic and modern Persian poems, the poppy is a symbol of people who died for love (). Many poems interchange "poppy" and "tulip" (). [I] was asking the wind in the field of tulips during the sunrise: whose martyrs are these bloody shrouded? [The wind] replied: Hafez, you and I are not capable of this secret, sing about red wine and sweet lips. Urdu literature In Urdu literature, red poppies, or "Gul-e-Lalah", are often a symbol of martyrdom, and sometimes of love. ==See also==