Opium poppy

Opium poppy
Opium poppy
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Ranunculales Family: Papaveraceae Genus: Papaver Species: P. somniferum
Binomial name
Papaver somniferum

The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as heroin are extracted, as well as an important food item. There are many varieties of this poppy species. Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics (number and shape of petals, number of pods, production of morphine, etc.). Possession of any part of Papaver somniferum is outlawed in the United States and is listed as a Schedule II controled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration.[1]

The name means, loosely, the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to its narcotic properties.

The seeds of the poppy are widely used as the popular "poppy-seed" found in and on many food items such as bagels, muffins and cakes. The seeds can be pressed to form poppy seed oil. Opium poppy seeds contain negligible amounts of narcotics.

History

The history of the opium poppy predates written history. It probably originated in the Mediterranean area. Images of opium poppies have been found in ancient Sumerian artifacts (ca. 4000 b.c.). The opium poppy was also known to the ancient Greeks, from whom it gained its modern name of Opium.

Many modern writers, particularly in the 19th century, have written on the opium poppy and its effects, notably L. Frank Baum with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium-Eater.

See also

• Opium wars

External links

• Geopium: Geopolitics of Illicit Drugs in Asia
• Growing Papaver somniferum (Plot55.com)
• U.N. reports Afgan opium production is up again on Wikinews, February 11, 2005

Opium Poppy from Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885

A field of opium poppy in Burma.

Harvesting opium.

Ornamental poppy at Chatsworth House, UK

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Opium poppy