When I think of poppies I usually think of the red ones we wear in Britain on Remembrance Day in November. These red poppies have been associated with war since Napoleonic times, as they grew on the graves of soldiers. But our modern associations are with the poppies that flourished in Flanders fields after the devastation of the land by trench warfare in World War I.
Or maybe I think of bright blue Himalayan poppies, which I have twice tried to grow in a pot – and failed. I now realise this is because most are monocarpic, meaning that although they live several years, once they flower and set seeds they give up and die. So buying them already in flower in a pot is pretty stupid, really!
I don’t usually think of yellow poppies, yet this is one of the national flowers of Wales. Carl Linnaeus named it after us – Papaver cambrica – in 1753. Cambria is the Latin name for Wales, from our own Welsh name for our country, Cymru. In 1814 the yellow poppy was reclassified differently as a new species, Meconopsis cambrica, by Louis Viguier.
The reason I am aware of these native poppies now is that one has self-seeded in my garden, on a patch of sea-pebbly gravel where a lawn used to be.
When I saw the leaves I thought it was going to be an Aquilegia (columbine), which I have found self-seeded before.
Then the flower buds came along and I realised my mistake…
It got me interested to find out more, as I already knew two sorts of poppy – Latin names Papaver and Meconopsis. Both these belong to the family Papaveraceae , which also includes many other genera I won’t go into here.
First some pictures of poppies I know. Most of them are not mine, so click on the images to go to the source…
The Oriental poppy, Papaver orientale, grows in south-eastern Europe and the Middle East – in Turkey, Iran and the Caucasus.
It has been much hybridised since the late 19th century and cultivated varieties range from white through all sorts of pink and red shades to maroon and plum. You won’t find any blue ones, though. The basic four-petalled shape has also been multiplied by breeding and encouraged into creased and even fringed forms.
Another poppy we have all heard of is the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum (meaning sleep-inducing). This is a native of Turkey but is grown more widely, both for opium – made by drying a milky fluid that comes out when you scratch the seed-heads with a knife – and for the seeds, used as food, even in the UK, where they appear on fancy types of bread…
You might say opium is both a bane and a salvation. It is very addictive and can ruin lives, yet as morphine it gives pain relief. It is fascinating to read about the Chinese Opium Wars of the mid-19th century, when Britain traded opium grown in India to the Chinese – to make money, of course, as Britain was mainly buying goods from China at that time and not selling many. The Chinese Qing Dynasty wanted to stop the damaging trade.
Like the Oriental poppy, the opium poppy has also been hybridised for garden use. In some countries (such as the UK) it is legal to grow such poppies but not to harvest the opium…
Then there is the Meconopsis . Papaver is the Latin name for “poppy”. Mekon is the Greek name for “poppy” and Meconopsis means “looking like a poppy”. The Welsh poppy was the first to be classified as a Meconopsis and is therefore the type species all others are compared to. This is now an embarrassment as recent DNA studies suggest the Welsh poppy is a true Papaver poppy, not related to the blue genus. Not so surprising when all the other alleged relatives are far away in the Himalayas.
If you look at that picture and compare it with the Papavers, you will see the main difference between the two genera, there in the middle of the flower in the seed-producing organs. The Papaver has a flat disc on top of a broad pot, while the Meconopsis has a tall structure like a vase with a narrow neck. This neck is the “style” between the “ovary” below and “stigma” on top – where the pollen lands to fertilise the eggs. As the seeds develop, the Papaver ends up with the familiar “pepper-pot” pod and the Meconopsis has a tall and thin capsule.
You can just about see why the Himalayan blues and Welsh yellow were associated by a glance at my poppy’s seed capsules, as they are tall and thin…
Not all Meconopsis are blue or yellow, there are also dark purply red species. Anyway, for lots more about Meconopsis, visit the enthusiasts’ site Meconopsis.org…
I can’t believe that until I researched this post I thought the logo of Plaid Cymru, the political “party of Wales” showed a daffodil, our accepted national flower. But no, it’s supposed to be a Welsh poppy! A bit stylised, either way…
I did say there were lots of other genera in the Papaveraceae family, but here I shall mention only one last poppy, neither Papaver nor Meconopsis – Eschscholzia californica, the Californian yellow poppy…
This was named after a Baltic German doctor and biologist Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz (1793-1831). For more flowers named after people, see my post Who would YOU name a plant after?
at least 2 sets of 4 petals, doesn’t show a poppy to me. How … odd.
My thoughts, too. And as I said, it could equally be a stylised daffodil, although that would have six parts, not eight…
Very interesting post. I love all the poppies, no matter what they’re called. Is there an orange variety of Welsh poppy, as well?
Well, that’s new to me, too – but yes, there ARE orange Welsh poppies. See this link to the English wild flowers seasonal guide…
I’ve seen the orange ones here in Victoria, BC. They look exactly like the yellow ones except for the colour, so I thought they must be Welsh poppies. I don’t think they’re as pretty as the yellow ones.
I’ve seen the blue ones (the real Meconopsis) in parks and public gardens, too; but they seem to be very difficult for “ordinary” people to grow.
How interesting Pat. In our previous house we had yellow poppies everywhere (not from choice, they were already there) and actually, a few have migrated in pots to our home where we are now (but not prolific). I had no idea about the Welsh connection! I’ve always loved them though – little spots of sunshine!
Thanks for commenting đŸ™‚
I find it amazing where all these self-seeded things come from – I have a big green hellebore that has also come from nowhere near the yellow poppy. Isn’t nature wonderful?
Best wishes – have a good bank holiday weekend. Sadly I’m working…
Not good to be working when the sun is shining (so rare haha). Don’t want to rub it in … but it’s our half-term now!
I have the orange poppy in my front garden and seeds itself each year in various spots. It has also appeared round the back garden too.
Lovely – I imagine it goes well in a cottage-style garden. I have no idea where mine came from – I have seen one in front of a house half a mile away but otherwise nothing.
Aren’t plants wonderful – our neighbours are still sprouting forget-me-nots which started off in our garden decades ago and we have none left now ourselves…
All the best đŸ™‚
Thanks for the post, it’s fascinating. The Welsh poppy is yet another of my favourite wild flowers; I always try to have them in the garden too. I prefer the ‘proper’ yellow ones, but have seen quite a few orange ones this year, more than usual, I have wondered why. One of my best ‘spots’ was of one growing in a little street in Norway! Unless you are ‘done’ with poppies for now, you would probably enjoy the story of the Shirley poppy too.
Oh, that’s interesting – I know I always reach for Wikipedia, but it is good on the basics of Shirley poppies… The colours are very subtle, aren’t they.
Do you think the one in Norway might have been an Arctic poppy like this? The leaves are different though, so I expect you were right in what you saw.
Best wishes đŸ™‚
Hmm- could have been, didn’t stop to have a really good look as other half gets a tad impatient with my frequent wildlife appreciation stops when there are, apparently, more interesting things to be seen! I did take a photo though, so when I come across it I’ll have a better look. Thanks for that.
I love all poppies and I have tried several times to try and get them to grow in my garden without any success. Your images are wonderful.
Sarah x
I also usually fail with what I’m TRYING to grow, but the self-seeded plants all flourish to their hearts’ content…
All the best – look after Dorset for me until the next time I visit đŸ™‚
Excellent post. Thank you!
Thank you for the kind comment. And I am now following your writing blog đŸ™‚
Thank you – I am following yours. Fascinating pot pourri!
I’m thinking more gallimaufry than pot pourri. And now I’ve looked them both up you have given me an idea for another post. Thanks!
Best wishes đŸ™‚
A fascinating flower, and so beautiful!
Thanks so much for stopping by to make your kind comment đŸ™‚
Thanks for liking my post Squirrelbasket. I learned quite a lot from this poppy post of yours. Very interesting. Check mrsdaffodil’s latest post abut the blue poppy. She has one now. Here in California we have the bright orange one which grows on the hillsides in the spring, often in conjunction with the blue lupine.
Thank you for stopping by.
I always enjoy your posts – and wonder how you find the time to create so much wonderful art along the way!
I think I have seen your orange poppies at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, in the great glasshouse, as it has a “Mediterranean” theme including planted landscapes from California, Australia and South Africa among others.
All the best đŸ™‚
We also grow Iceland poppies here. They like cooler weather (being from Iceland and all) so they’re a winter annual in California, a late winter/spring blooming perennial farther north in Washington state and BC, and a summer bloomer in Alaska. They come in many colors but not yellow. Yellow poppies to me mean Mexican poppies, Hunnemannia. I always think of California poppies as orange but there are 29 subspecies which vary in color from gold to deep orange. Plus all the horticultural varieties from cream to burgundy! Both Iceland and Mexican poppies make good cut flowers, along with the Oriental poppies, but California poppies are terrible. Have you tried your Welsh poppies as cut flowers? They’re very pretty. I don’t see a poppy in the Plaid Cymru logo either – looks more like a dahlia to me.
Thank you for your fascinating contribution!
Our Welsh poppies are very small and fragile and short-lived in bloom, so I haven’t tried them as cut flowers.
As for the Plaid Cymru logo, I always see a daffodil, just because of the colour, and daffodils are VERY common here in Wales.
All the best đŸ™‚
Hi Squirrelbasket, my Wednesday Weed for this week is about the Welsh Poppy (which is well naturalised down here in north London), so is it ok if I link to your piece here? I love that you investigate the whole Meconopsis/Papaver angle….
Yes, please do!
And I will Tweet your post and link it as well đŸ™‚
[…] and contrast. My fellow blogger Squirrelbasket has written a great post about the naming of poppies here, well worth a […]
Beautiful flowers! But as an Indian I can’t help being reminded of the opium poppy in particular, and one of my favourite authors Amitav Ghosh’s novel “The Sea of Poppies” (part of a trilogy) about the flower’s grim colonial past.
Thank you for stopping by, Meena!
The opium poppy certainly does have a disreputable past.
By the way, we were thinking of you the other day when watching the IPL cricket…
All the best đŸ™‚