Poppies are herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. Some species are monocarpic, dying after flowering. Poppies can be over a metre tall with flowers up to 15 centimetres across. Flowers of species (not cultivars) have 4 to 6 petals, many stamens forming a conspicuous whorl in the center of the flower and an ovary of from 2 to many fused carpels. The petals are showy, may be of almost any color and some have markings. The petals are crumpled in the bud and as blooming finishes, the petals often lie flat before falling away. In the temperate zones, poppies bloom from spring into early summer. Most species secrete latex when injured. Bees use poppies as a pollen source. The pollen of the oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, is dark blue, that of the field or corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) is grey to dark green. The opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, grows wild in eastern and southern Asia, and South Eastern Europe. It is believed that it originated in the Mediterranean region. Poppies belong to the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae, which includes the following genera: Papaver – Papaver rhoeas, Papaver somniferum, Papaver orientale, Papaver nudicaule Eschscholzia – Eschscholzia californica Meconopsis – Meconopsis cambrica, Meconopsis napaulensis Stylophorum – celandine poppy Argemone – prickly poppy Romneya – matilija poppy and relatives Canbya – pygmy poppy Stylomecon – wind poppy Arctomecon – desert bearpaw poppy Hunnemannia – tulip pop...
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