Opium Poppy
Opium Poppy - Papaver somniferum
Description
Medium to tall, erect plant. Leaves greyish green, oblong, but lobed and undulate, the upper clasping the stem. Flowers large, 8 to 18 cm purple, pale lilac or red, often with a deep blotch at the base of each petal, anthers pale yellow. Capsule rounded.
Habitat
Cultivated and waste land, waysides.
When to see it
June to August.
Life History
Annual.
UK Status
Found fairly frequently throughout Britain.
VC55 Status
Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. The Flora of Leicestershire published in 1988 states that it occurred in 83 of the 617 tetrads.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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MAP KEY:
Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020
UK Map
Additional images
No additional images available for this species.
