• Common name : Opium Poppy
• Scientific name : Papaversomniferum
• Family : Papaveraceae
• Native land : Mediterranean Basin, South-Eastern Europe, and Western Asia
Poppies are herbaceous annual, biennial or short-lived perennial plants. They have brilliant white or red flowers, growing on central bulbous pods. When scratched, the pod produces milky latex called opium. This latex contains a variety of opiates, including codeine and morphine. The seeds themselves contain very small amounts of opiates. Poppy seeds of Papaversomniferumare an important food-item and the source of poppy seed oil, healthy edible oil, that have many uses.
