Corn Poppy Papaver rhoeas

LATIN NAME: Papaver rhoeas

COMMON NAME: Corn Poppy

The corn poppy opens its silky, papery, scarlet cups among the feathery leaves, and the hairy stems hold the flowers above the field. The upright, branching, annual plant carries the finely divided, feathery, softly hairy, grey-green leaves and the large, silky, papery, four-petalled, scarlet or crimson flowers with the dark centres through the early summer, one of the fine, bright sights of the cornfield and the wild verge, drawing the bees. The plant is a fine, historic presence of the old cornfield, and it is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The corn poppy is a historic subject of the plant science, and the papery cups keep showing up in the work on the cornfield flowers. The way the large, silky, papery, four-petalled, scarlet or crimson flowers open above the feathery leaves has been examined closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the cornfield flowers, the self-seeding annuals and the members of the poppy family. The finely divided leaves and the upright, branching habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the corn poppy is a regular subject of the work on the papery cups of the early world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The corn poppy is a fine, bright plant of the cornfield and the wild verge. The large, silky, papery, four-petalled, scarlet or crimson flowers with the dark centres open through the early summer, one of the fine, bright sights of the cornfield, drawing the bees, and the plant sows itself with the ease, coming back to the same patch year after year. It is one of the fine choices for the wild verge, the meadow patch and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the papery cups and the easy ways. It is a fine, bright plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden.

Sow in the early spring for the summer cups, and the plants will sow themselves for the years to come.

To grow the corn poppy from seed, sow the tiny, dust-like seeds on the surface of the pot of fine, gritty soil, without covering them, keep the pot in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, well-drained ground, the papery cups will open through the early summer.

Uses: Culinary/Medicinal/Industrial

Seeds are delectable on cookies, breads, rolls, and cakes, adding texture and mild nutty flavour. Also desirable in buttered noodles. Colourful garden annual.

Red Corn Poppy American Legion [ Papaver Rhoeas ] prefers full sun but will tolerate partial shade. This poppy is a very hardy plant that prefers loose soil, and will tolerate drought well. The fruit of the red poppy is a capsule containing many black seeds. The plant re-grows strongly following year if seed falls on bare ground.