FFF571 - FLANDERS POPPY

Papaver rhoeas, with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, and red poppy, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is a temperate native with a very wide distribution area, from Africa to temperate and tropical Asia and Europe. It is regarded as an agricultural weed (hence the common names including "corn" and "field").

As the plant thrives in areas of disturbed soil, it was often abundant in agricultural fields before the advent of herbicides. Flushes of poppies may still appear in fields where herbicides are not used, as well as those in fallow. The corn poppy and its cultivars such as the Shirley poppy are widely grown in gardens, and are frequently found in packets of seed labelled "wildflower mixes". Since World War I, it has been used in the Commonwealth as a symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so.

***If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!***

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

FFF365 - RED POPPY

Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are derived. Opium is the source of many drugs, including morphine (and its derivative heroin), thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine. The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates.

The opium poppy is the only species of Papaveraceae that is an agricultural crop grown on a large scale. Other species, Papaver rhoeas and Papaver argemone, are important agricultural weeds, and may be mistaken for the crop. This poppy is also valuable for ornamental purposes, and has been known as the "common garden poppy", referencing all the group of poppy plants.

Poppy seeds of Papaver somniferum are an important food item and the source of poppy seed oil, a healthy edible oil that has many uses.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so.

***If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!***

Add your own link to the Linky list below and say hello in a comment. Please visit other participants in the meme. Thank you for your loyalty and perseverance in linking up, it is appreciated!

FFF369 - PALE POPPY

Papaver argemone is a species of the genus Papaver. Its common names include long pricklyhead poppy, prickly poppy and pale poppy. Its native range includes parts of Eurasia and North Africa, and it is cultivated as an ornamental plant. It can be found growing wild in parts of North America, where it is an introduced species.

This annual herb grows up to 50 cm, Its 15–50 cm long, branching stems are coated in stiff prickly hairs. The fern-like green, leaves at the base of the plant have stalks, but upper leaves are stalk-less. They can be up to 20 cm long. It blooms in spring to summer, between May and July. The flowers have four, slightly overlapping red petals, around a dark base. They can measure 2–5.5 cm across, with pale blue anthers and 4-6 stigmas. Later, the plant produces a seed capsule, oblong to clavate (clubbed like) shaped with ribs and up to 2 cm long.

The plant contains alkaloids, explaining its traditional use in herbal medicines. It also means the plant is not eaten much by grazing animals. It is native to Europe and countries around the Mediterranean. It grows in fields and disturbed soils (including ploughed). It is normally found at 0–300 m above sea level.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

****If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!****

Add your own link to the Linky list below and say hello in a comment. Please visit other participants in the meme. Thank you for your loyalty and perseverance in linking up, it is appreciated!

FFF205 - RED POPPY BUD

Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are derived. Opium is the source of many drugs, including morphine (and its derivative heroin), thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine.

The Latin botanical name means the "sleep-bringing poppy", referring to the sedative properties of some of these opiates. The opium poppy is the only species of Papaveraceae that is an agricultural crop grown on a large scale. Other species, Papaver rhoeas and Papaver argemone, are important agricultural weeds, and may be mistaken for the crop.

This poppy is also valuable for ornamental purposes, and has been known as the "common garden poppy", referencing all the group of poppy plants. Poppy seeds of Papaver somniferum are an important food item and the source of poppy seed oil, a healthy edible oil that has many uses.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so.

***If you take part in the meme, please show an active link back to this site on your own blog post!***

FFF178 - CALIFORNIAN POPPY

Eschscholzia californica (Californian poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight, cup of gold) is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico, and the official state flower of California.

It is a perennial or annual growing to 13–152 cm tall, with alternately branching glaucous blue-green foliage. The leaves are alternately divided into round, lobed segments. The flowers are solitary on long stems, silky-textured, with four petals, each petal 2 to 6 cm long and broad; flower colour ranges from yellow to orange, with flowering from February to September. The petals close at night or in cold, windy weather and open again the following morning, although they may remain closed in cloudy weather. The fruit is a slender, dehiscent capsule 3 to 9 cm long, which splits in two to release the numerous small black or dark brown seeds. It survives mild winters in its native range, dying completely in colder climates.

E. californica is drought-tolerant, self-seeding, and easy to grow in gardens. It is best grown as an annual, in full sun and sandy, well-drained, poor soil. Horticulturalists have produced numerous cultivars with a range of colours and blossom and stem forms. These typically do not breed true on reseeding. Seeds are often sold as mixtures. Many cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Because of its beauty and ease of growing, the California poppy was introduced into several regions with similar Mediterranean climates. It is commercially sold and widely naturalised in Australia, and was introduced to South Africa, Chile, and Argentina. It is recognised as a potentially invasive species within the United States, although no indications of ill effects have been reported for this plant where it has been introduced outside of California. The golden poppy has been displaced in large areas of its original habitat, such as Southern California, by more invasive exotic species, such as mustard or annual grasses.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

If you link your post here, please show a link back to this site on your own blog post...

FFF140 - FUMITORY

Fumaria officinalis (common fumitory or earth smoke) is the most common species of the genus Fumaria in Western and Central Europe. It is a herbaceous annual plant, which grows weakly erect and scrambling, with stalks about 10 to 50 cm long. Its pink 7 to 9 mm flowers appear from April to October in the northern hemisphere. They are two lipped and spurred, with sepals running a quarter the length of the petals. The fruit is an achene. It contains alkaloids, potassium salts, and tannins. It is also a major source of fumaric acid.

The "smoky" or "fumy" origin of its name comes from the translucent color of its flowers, giving them the appearance of smoke or of hanging in smoke, and the slightly gray-blue haze color of its foliage, also resembling smoke coming from the ground, especially after morning dew.

The plant was already called fūmus terrae (smoke of the earth) in the early 13th century, and two thousand years ago, Dioscorides wrote in De Materia Medica (Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς) and Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia that rubbing the eyes with the sap or latex of the plant causes tears, like acrid smoke (fūmus) does to the eyes. Its Greek name is kapnos (καπνός, for smoke) and the name fumewort now applies mostly to the genus Corydalis, especially the similar looking Corydalis solida (formerly Fumaria bulbosa), which was thought to belong to the same genus as fumitory.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

FFF136 - ICELAND POPPY

The Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule, syn. Papaver croceum, P. miyabeanum, P. amurense, and P. macounii) is a boreal flowering plant. Native to subpolar regions of Europe, Asia and North America, and the mountains of Central Asia (but not in Iceland), Iceland poppies are hardy but short-lived perennials, often grown as biennials, that yield large, papery, bowl-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers supported by hairy, one foot, curved stems among feathery blue-green foliage.

They were first described by botanists in 1759. The wild species blooms in white or yellow, and is hardy from USDA Zones 3a-10b. All parts of this plant are likely to be poisonous, containing (like all poppies) toxic alkaloids. In particular, P. nudicaule has been shown to contain the benzophenanthidine alkaloid, chelidonine.

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!

FFF61 - TREE POPPY

Romneya is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). There are two species in genus Romneya (R. coulteri and R. trichocalyx), which was named for Irish astronomer John Thomas Romney Robinson. They are known commonly as Matilija poppies or tree poppies and are native to southern California and northern Mexico. They are perennial subshrubs with woody stems. They may grow to a height of 2.5 meters and a width of 1 m, with the flowers up to 13 cm across.

The silvery green leaves are deeply cut, with a small fringe of hairs at the margins. They are notable for their large white flowers with intense yellow centers, blooming in summer. Romneya produce the largest flowers of any members of the poppy family. These flowers prefer a warm, sunny spot and fertile soil with good water drainage. They are not easily grown but once established are difficult to remove. In the wild, they are known as "fire followers" as they can be frequently, but not exclusively, found in burned areas. Also known as "fried egg flower".

Join me for Floral Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below, and please leave a comment once you have done so!