Papaver somniferum L.

Shrub

Papaver species are erect, annual, biennial or perennial herbs, with milky white, yellowish or orange fluid. Stem simple bristly or rarely glabrous. Leaves mostly pinnatipartite, pinnatifid, pinnatilobed, basal leaves petioled, cauline ones sessile, margin incised, dentate or serrate rarely entire, bristly or glabrous. Inflorescence panicle, raceme, adpressed setose. Flowers bisexual, solitary on long pedicels or on scapose stems, ebracteate, buds subglobose to ovoid, Sepals 2 rarely 3, free, deciduous, ovate-orbicular, early caducous, petals 4 sometimes 6, obovate, slightly clawed or not, red, orange, yellow, white or purplish. Stamens numerous, filaments filiform or dilated, anthers linear or oblong. Ovary ovoid, unilocular, superior, glabrous or setose, ovules numerous, stigmas 4-20, on disc crenate margin to deeply dissected, stigmatic rays opposite to placentas. Fruits capsules, globular, cylindric to subcylindric, ellipsoid-obovoid, dehiscing by subapical pores or persistent disc. Seeds many, bean shaped, reticulate-alveolate, reniform, black, brown, gray or white, albumin fleshy, rich in oil.

Papaver species flowers are complete, bisexual, i.e., with functional male (androecium) and female (gynoecium), including stamens, carpels and ovary. Pollination is entomophilous i.e., by insects. Flowering/Fruiting: June/July-August.

Seeds may be dispersed by autochory i.e., self dispersal, anemochory i.e., dispersal by wind, zoochory i.e., dispersal by birds or animals, anthropochory i.e., dispersal by humans.

Erect robust annual herbs, glaucous, glabrous rarely sparsely setose, about 50-100 cm tall. Stem simple or branched. Root stock, erect, slender, conical. Leaves alternate, broadly lanceolate, ovate oblong, shallowly pinnatifid about 5-25 x 2-7 cm across, base obtuse or rounded, margin serrate-dentate, apex obtuse to acute, glaucous, glabrous both above and beneath, lateral veins and midrib impressed above, and prominent beneath, petiole glabrous about 1-2 cm long, upper cauline leaves, smallers and becoming more shallowly lobed, subsessile towards the shoot, base cordate-amplexicaul. Peduncles glabrous or sparsely bristly, about 5-25 cm long. Flowers bisexual, solitary, terminal, about 3-10 cm across, white, pale pink, pale purple, sometimes with black blotch at the base, flower buds oblong-ovoid, apex obtuse, about 1.5-3 x 1-2 cm across, Sepals 2, free, deciduous, ovate-orbicular, early caducous, glabrous, petals 4, obovate, overlapping, apex rounded wavy, white, pale pink, pale purple, sometimes with black blotch at the base, about 3-6 x 3-8 cm across. Stamens numerous, usually as long as the ovary, filaments filiform, slender, yellowish, about 5-10 mm long, anthers oblong-elliptic, about 1-1.5 mm long. Ovary ovoid-globose, unilocular, superior, glabrous, about 10 mm long, ovules numerous, stigmatic rays disc yellow, enlarged, opposite to placentas, rays about 7-18. Fruits capsules, globular-ovoid, base rounded, apex flat topped, glabrous, about 2-7 x 5-6 cm across, dehiscing by subapical pores or persistent disc. Seeds many, globose, reniform, pale grayish white, black or grayish brown, about 0.3 mm across, rich in oil.

Papaver species are susceptible to insect pests, moulds and rusts.

Notes: Western Ghats, Cultivated, Native of South West Asia

Open areas, forest, rocky areas

Widely cultivated, altitude up to 3000 m.

Not evaluated (IUCN).

Used in Folk, Ayurvedic, Siddha, Homeopathy, Unani and English medicine. Latex from the fruits yield narcotic compounds, widely used in medicine for diarrhea, diabetes and rheumatism and snake bite. Seeds are used in flavoring chocolates, condiment and as medicine. Latex is source of narcotics like brown sugar, heroin, opium and morphine.