~ POPPY PATCH  ~

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Breadseed........................Papaver somniferum
(Opium Poppy)
Annual or overwintering annual.  Lavender flowers, dark basal spot, giant pods.  Pure (unmixed) strain.  Opium poppies have been grown and utilized for over 4,000 years as a sedative and anodyne, first cultivated in Asia Minor.  An alkaloid-rich cultivar.  The seed is good in baking.  Thin to 4 inches apart.  Flowers 3 to 4 feet tall.

California.........................Eschscholzia californica
Herbaceous perennial, self-seeding.  Native to California, Oregon and the southwestern U.S..  Very resilient and tough flowers, a yellow and orange carpet for the spring pasture or along the driveway.  Tincture of fresh herb, especially root and seed capsule, works well for calming children and adults who have sensitive constitutions.  Cultivation:  Scatter the seed in fall or early spring on disturbed soil.  We give plenty of seed per packet, so you can get a good patch going in this manner.  Dislikes transplanting.  Flowers up to 18 inches tall.

Poppy, Flanders .....................Papaver rhoeas
(Corn Poppy, Shirley Poppy)
Annual.  Native to Europe and temperate Asia. The British yearly commemorate those killed in battle on "Poppy Day" by wearing a Flanders Poppy at the lapel.  All parts of this plant contain the non-addictive alkaloid rheadine.  The general activity is soporific (inducing a deep sleep).  Flowers bright red to 32 inches.

Peshawar...........Papaver somniferum var. album
(White Poppy, Opium Poppy)
Annual or overwintering annual. Fast growing.  Produces a compact plant with white flowers and an elongated pod loaded with white seeds.  This strain originated in the Peshawar region of Pakistan. An alkaloid-rich cultivar. Cultivation the same as for Poppy, Breadseed, but this plant blooms earlier

Plume ....................Bocconia cordata syn. Macleaya cordata
(Tree Celandine)
Herbaceous perennial.  Volunteers freely.  Native to China.  The curious, palmate leaves are reminiscent of bloodroot, with  leaf stems frilled where they clasp the smooth stem of the plant. Extraordinarily decorative and hardy plant for backdrops and central garden focus, with silvery leaf tones and long-lived, conspicuous white flowering racemes that last from summer to frost. This plant is rich in the alkaloid sanguinarine (see Bloodroot and Celandine) as well as poppy type alkaloids.  Medicinally, the acrid juice is used externally, to resolve growths or to deaden pain of insect stings.  Plant prefers full sun to part shade and moist, rich soils.  Plant 6 inches apart.  Flowers to 10 feet in second year.

Prickly .........................Argemone munita
Potentially Toxic.
Annual.  Native to the southwestern U.S. and Mexico.  Self-seeding.  Blooming from late spring to autumn, this drought-tolerant plant produces big, white flowers with golden-yellow centers.  The tea of the dried plant is analgesic and anti-inflammatory.     Cultivation: Extra care.  Sporadic germinator, but reliable.  Scarify.  Put seed in hot (not boiling) water and soak overnight.  Sow in a warm place.

Yellow Horned...............Glaucium flavum
itBiennial or perennial herb.  Native to the Mediterranean basin.  With s silver foliage, 3-inch-wide, golden blooms and foot-long ornamental seedpods, the plant is absolutely remarkable.  Cultivation:  Extra care.  Best results may be obtained by sowing the seeds outdoors in the fall, midwinter or very early spring.  Expect germination as the ground warms up.  Space plants 1 foot apart.  Flowers yellow, to 20 inches.