A poppy is any of a number of showy flowers, typically with one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. They include a number of attractive wildflower species with showy flowers found growing singularly or in large groups; many species are also grown in gardens. Those that are grown in gardens include large plants used in a mixed herbaceous boarder and small plants that are grown in rock or alpine gardens.

The flower color of poppy species include: white, pink, yellow, orange, red and blue; some have dark center markings. The species that have been cultivated for many years also include many other colors ranging from dark solid colors to soft pastel shades. The center of the flower has a whorl of stamens surrounded by a cup- or bowl-shaped collection of four to six petals. Prior to blooming, the petals are crumpled in bud, and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away.

Opium poppy

Opium is an extract of the exudate derived from seedpods of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum. The poppy plant was cultivated in the ancient civilisations of Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. Archaeological evidence and fossilised poppy seeds suggest that Neanderthal man may have used the opium poppy over thirty thousand years ago.

The flower was known as hul gil, plant of joy. Papaver somniferum is the only species of Papaver used to produce opium. It is believed to have evolved through centuries of breeding and cultivation from a Mediterranean-growing wild strain, Papaver setigerum.

The opium poppy is the type of poppy from which opium and all refined opiates such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine are extracted. The binomial name means, loosely, the “sleep-bringing poppy”, referring to its narcotic properties. The seeds are important food items, and contain healthy oils used in salads worldwide. The plant is also important for ornamental use.

opium poppy

Papaver somniferum is a species of plant with many sub-groups or varieties. Colors of the flower vary widely, as do other physical characteristics such as number and shape of petals, number of pods, production of morphine, etc.

Papaver somniferum Paeoniflorum Group (sometimes called Papaver paeoniflorum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double, and are grown in many colors. Papaver somniferum Laciniatum Group (sometimes called Papaver laciniatum) is a sub-type of opium poppy whose flowers are highly double and deeply lobed, to the point of looking like a ruffly pompon.

Uses

Opium is the air-dried milky exudation obtained from excised unripe fruits. It is extensively smoked as an intoxicant. Commercial products are called Turkey Opium, Indian Opium, Persian Opium, Chinese Opium, and Egyptian Opium, and they differ in appearance and quality. Opium is largely used for manufacture of morphine, codeine, narcotine, laudenine, papaverine, and many other alkaloids. It is also the source of the toxic and extremely habitforming narcotic heroin or dimorphine, prohibited in some countries. Seeds contain no opium and are used extensively in baking and sprinkling on rolls and bread. Seeds are a good source of energy. They are also the source of a drying-oil, used for manufacture of paints, varnishes, and soaps, and in foods and salad dressing. Oil cake is a good fodder for cattle. Seeds used for preparation of emulsions (white-seeded varieties preferred); the bluish-black varieties are generally used for baking. Stems used for straw. Lecithin has been extracted from poppy seed meal. Seedlings are eaten as a potherb in Iran. As the peony flowered poppy, the opium poppy is widely grown as an ornamental.

Poppy seeds are used as a condiment with baked goods and pastries for their nutty odor and flavor. Poppy oil is widely used as an edible cooking oil. The oil is also used in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, and soaps. Opium is used in the production of morphine, codeine, other alkaloids, and deodorized forms of opium. Morphine is the raw material from which heroin is obtained. Poppy plants are important as ornamental plants in flower gardens.

Poppy is one of the most important medicinal plants. Traditionally, the dry opium was considered an astringent, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, diaphoretic, expectorant, hypnotic, narcotic, and sedative. Poppy has been used against toothaches and coughs. The ability of opium from poppy to serve as an analgesic is well known. Opium and derivatives of opium are used in the pharmaceutical industry as narcotic analgesics, hypnotics, and sedatives. These compounds are also used as antidiarrheals, antispasmodics, and antitussives. Opium and the drugs derived from opium are addictive and can have toxicological effects.

The poppy has had a tremendous impact on several societies as an opiate. Currently, there is interest in developing a poppy plant rich in thebaine and low in morphine as the former could be converted to codeine and other legal pharmaceutical products with less morphine available for illegal conversion into heroin.

Constituents

Opium poppy contains over 40 opium alkaloids, including codeine (about 1%), morphine (up to 20%), narcotine (about 5%), and papaverine (about 1%). It also contains meconic acid, albumin, mucilage, sugars, resin, and wax. Almost all the alkaloids of opium poppy are found to have a well established therapeutic action. For instance, morphine is used as a powerful analgesic to relieve pain, especially in cases of terminal illness, while codeine, a milder analgesic, is often used for milder pains like headaches, and for the symptomatic treatment of diarrhea. Opium is strongly addictive.

Sources: Herbs 2000, Opioids

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