Family Description
The poppy family is a group of annual and perennial dicotyledonous herbs consisting of approximately 25 genera and 450 species with distribution centered in EurAsia but with a few species in western North America. Leaves are often pubescent, much divided and usually basal or with stem leaves having alternate or whorled arrangement. The sap is often milky. Flowers are solitary, showy with 2-3 deciduous sepals and 4 to 8 petals. Stamens are numerous and surround the usually large ovary. Flowers are primarily in pastel shades of all colors and produced in late spring. Prior to opening, flower buds are nodding, as if wilted. Flower petals are crumpled in bud. The fruit is a superior capsule usually opening by terminal pores. Seeds are small, and usually black.
- The most characteristic features of the family are
- showy, solitary flowers
- nodding buds
Plants in this family are easily grown when given a well drained site in full sun. Many species avoid drought periods by going dormant. Propagation is primarily by root cuttings collected from dormant plants or by seed. Seeds germinate readily but temperatures above 60°F may cause thermal dormancy. Common pests associated with this family are rare.
Important genera belonging to this family include Argemone, Bocconia, Dendromecon, Eomecon, Eschscholzia, Glaucium, Hunnemannia, Meconella, Meconopsis, Papaver, Platystemon, Romneya, Sanguinaria, and Stylophorum.
Papaver orientale and pod (left), Eschscholzi californica (right)
Representative Species
| Eschscholizia californica | California Poppy |
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| Papaver nudicaule | Iceland Poppy | |
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| * | Papaver orientalis | Oriental Poppy |
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