Poppy

About the Poppy

The red poppy is the symbol of remembrance for war dead, inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields (1915) written amid poppy-covered battlefields of WWI. Opium poppies produce morphine, codeine, and thebaine - still the source of most legal medical opiates. Poppy seeds are used in baking worldwide but can cause false positives on drug tests. They can produce up to 30,000 seeds per pod. The Sumerians cultivated them 5,000 years ago. They germinate best in disturbed soil, which is why they appear on battlefields. Some species are considered weeds, others prized ornamentals.