Common poppy Papaver rhoeas
Table of Contents
The poppy, which is a much loved wildflower, was once a considered an agricultural weed. The bright red flowers stand out from afar, and if left alone to grow can colonise a whole field, creating a vivid red, carpet of colour.
General information
Plant family: Papaveraceae
Aliases: Corn poppy, corn rose, Flanders poppy
Flowering period: June – August
Flower colour: Red
Preferred soil type: Most types, free draining
Habitat: Field margins, waste areas, disturbed ground
Status: Common
The poppy is one of the most recognisable wildflower, that requires little introduction with their bright red flowers, often creating carpets of colour during the summer months. It’s an erect, herbaceous, annual plant that’s capable of reaching 75 cm in height.
Poppies are used in cornfield annual seed mixtures, along with cornflowers, corn marigold, corn-cockle and corn chamomile. Like the other cornfield annuals, poppies were considered a weed in agricultural land and their numbers have greatly diminished due to modern farming practices. These days it is primary found on waste ground, roadside verges and building site, in fact anywhere the ground has been disturbed.
The common poppy has become a symbol of remembrance and a show of support for the armed forces. During the fighting in WW1 the battle fields turned to mud, where little or nothing would grow. Once the fighting had stopped, the poppy was one of the few plants that would grow on the barren land.
Identification
Flower: The vivid red flowers are saucer-shaped shaped, measuring up to 10 cm in diameter. Each flower has 4 petals, which overlap each other. Some specimens have dark blotches in the center of the flower.
Leaves: Poppy leaves are blue – green with a feathery appearance. They are pinnate, meaning there are several leaflets that are borne from a central stem, each leaflet being deeply lobed.
Value for wildlife
The common poppy attracts many pollinators including bees, butterflies, moths and hoverflies that come to feed on it’s rich source of pollen.
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