Poppy information

Poppy is the common name for several species of the genus Papaver of the family Papaveraceae. It includes many species which are grown as garden flowers (garden poppies) and the species P. somniferum and its different varieties grown for the production of the important narcotic medicine opium (the dried latex exudate from the fully grown green capsule) and its edible seeds and seed oil. Opium is one of the oldest known painkillers and is the source of several alkaloids used for analgesic, antitussive and antispasmodic purposes in modern medicine. P. somniferum is named as the opium poppy. The opium poppy was cultivated by the ancient civilizations of Greece, Egypt, Italy, Persia and Mesopotamia. Poppy is now cultivated mainly for the production of opium and for the edible seed and seed oil. Poppy seeds are highly nutritive having no narcotic effect and used in breads, curries, sweets and confectioneries, and seed oil for culinary purposes.

Opium poppy is widely distributed in the temperate and subtropical regions of the old world extending from 60°N in North-West Soviet Union to the southern limit reaching almost the tropics. The centre of origin of Papaver somniferum (L.) is believed to be somewhere in the western Mediterranian region of Europe from where it spread through the Balkan Peninsula to Asia Minor as early as the tertiary period.

The plant poppy belongs to the genus Papaver of the dicot family Papaveraceae. There are about 100 species of Papaver distributed all over the world. The genus papaver are divided into nine sections, of which two sections ‘Mecones’ and ‘Mycrantha’ (Oxytona) are the only economically important groups. Valuable alkaloid yielding and edible seed producing species like P. somniferum, P. setigerum D.C. belong to the section ‘Mecones’, but P. somniferum is the only species which is commercially cultivated. P. somniferum is not found in the wild state. But other members of this genus under the section Mecones, P. setigerum, P. glaucum, P. glacile and P. dicaisnei are found wild in the Mediterranean region. The species under the section Oxytona are P. bracteatum, P. orientale, P. pseudo-orientale and they also contain some opium alkaloids. P. somniferum and P. setigerum shows close similarity and are now believed to have originated from a common ancestral stock. The species which contains alkaloids are morphine, codeine, thebane, narcotine and papaverine.

P. somniferum is an erect, annual herb, 30-150 cm long with 0.5 to 1.5 cm thick stem. The root is either shy branched or much branched, tapering and yellow. The stem is glabrous with thick waxy coating. The leaves are numerous, alternate, sessile, spreading horizontally; the lower ones are about 15 cm long oval oblong deeply pinnatisect with acute segments. The upper ones reaching as much as 25 cm in length, gradually wider and with more cordate base, the uppermost ones in very broadly ovate, amplexicaul prominent veins, midrib very wide, nearly white. The race ‘Safaid patta’, the leaves are variegated with white streaks or blotches. In ‘Kutila’ or ‘Kutapatta’, the foliage is deeply cut into more or less narrow segments up to midrib and primary veins.

Flowers are few, solitary on a 10-15 cm long penducle. Flower buds are ovate-ovoid dropping, hermaphrodite, regular with two caducous sepals, smooth, green, petals four, very large, polypetalous, generally white. Stamens are numerous, hypogynous, arranged in several whorls; anthers are linear attached with filament, cream coloured becoming pale brown and twisted after dehiscence. Ovary large depressed, globular, smooth pale green, one-celled with large spongy parietal placentae. Stigma is sessile, capitate with 8-20 short obtuse oblong rays. The fruit is a capsule varying in colour, shape and stigmatic rays. The immature capsule is covered with a waxy coating which imparts greyish-blue line to the capsule. The mature capsule is pale-brownish and sometimes may be variegated. The mature capsule may be globose or roundish, spherical, oblong to ovate oblong, depressed in some cases. The capsule has a rounded base but ends abruptly at the apex, opening by pore beneath the stigmatic rays. The stigmatic rays vary from 7 to 18. Seeds are numerous, very small, white grey, violet or black in colour, testa with a raised reticulated network, its embryo is slightly curved in the axis of the oily endosperm.

Poppy is generally considered as a self-pollinated plant, but there occurs a certain degree of outcrossing in poppy as has been reported by some workers. Since the insects play a major role in outcrossing, more outcrossing is expected in this species. However, planned breeding of opium poppy is very recent. Different selection methods for opium yield and quality and oil seed yield were the objectives of the breeding work. Extensive breeding work on poppy has been carried out by many European and Indian breeders.