Species: Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)



Common Poppy (Papaver rhoeas)

Poppies & bokehPapaver rhoeas (common names include common poppy,[2] corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, red poppy, red weed, coquelicot, and, due to its odour, which is said to cause them, as headache and headwark) is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae. This poppy is notable as an agricultural weed (hence the common names including “corn” and “field”) and after World War I as a symbol of dead soldiers.


Corn Poppy Papaver rhoeas klaproos bloem Flower photography

Corn Poppy (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, but if the weather is warm enough other flowers frequently appear at the beginning of autumn. It grows up to about 70 cm in height. The flowers are large and showy, 50 to 100mm across,[3] with four petals that are vivid red, most commonly with a black spot at their base. The flower stem is usually covered with coarse hairs that are held at right angles to the surface, helping to distinguish it from Papaver dubium in which the hairs are more usually appressed. The capsules are hairless, obovoid in shape, less than twice as tall as they are wide, with a stigma at least as wide as the capsule. Like many other species of Papaver, the plant exudes white to yellowish latex when the tissues are broken.[4]

damselflies macro Coenagrion pulchellum photography

Strike a Pose
Mating Variable Damselflies (Coenagrion pulchellum)

Natural history



Poppies and reflections

Poppies and reflections

Cultural usage

Due to the extent of ground disturbance in warfare during World War I, corn poppies bloomed in 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 each year became an established custom in English speaking western countries. It is also used at some other dates in some countries, such as at appeals for Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand.


Field of poppies on s sunny summer morning

Persian literature




poppies damselflies summer mating  In Urdu literature, red poppies, or “Gul-e-Lalah”, are often a symbol of martyrdom, and sometimes of love.poppies damselflies summer mating


The commonly grown decorative Shirley Poppy is a cultivar of this plant. P. rhoeas contains the alkaloid rhoeadine which is a mild sedative.

Text: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_rhoeas

poppies damselflies summer mating

Corn Poppy Papaver rhoeas klaproos bloem Flower photography

Poppy Party