Talk:Papaver rhoeas

The only species of Papaveraceae grown as a field crop on a large scale is Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy.

"The only species of Papaveraceae grown as a field crop on a large scale is Papaver somniferum, the opium poppy." I question that statement. I have seen vast fields of white poppies, grown for seeds used in pastry and for adorning the crust of bread.76.188.160.169 (talk) 18:56, 18 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

So what species is used in these vast fields for seed production, and where were they, and can you cite any evidence in support? Plantsurfer (talk) 23:02, 18 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The statement that the flower is edible may technically be true in that it is not very poisonous, but no evidence is provided that anybody would eat it, or that it has any actual culinary uses. I am therefore deleting the statement. Please restore it if a credible reference can be provided. Plantsurfer (talk) 22:23, 18 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Misidentification[edit]

Papaver rhoeas is not Papaver umbonatum, he:פרג אגסני. Hence, I removed all wrong interwikis (of he:פרג אגסני) from all languages. MathKnight 19:53, 3 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Abundant?[edit]

"P. rhoeas sometimes is so abundant in agricultural fields that it may be mistaken for a crop."

I would be interested to know where this is true. It may have been true a hundred years ago. But in the age of pesticides, P. rhoas has become pretty rare in many parts of Europe and usually exists only along the edges of farmland. No chance of "mistaking it for a crop" anywhere. --Anna (talk) 11:35, 22 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This can be seen in eastern Europe: Czech, Poland, etc.

Agreed, it is not common (though I doubt that P. rhoeas is actually rare anywhere, it still occurs in disturbed ground in most places I have seen, as well as farmland). The article should include a disclaimer, perhaps 'in the absence of pesticides'. I believe that Flora Britannica (not to hand for me at present) could be a used as a reference to its prevalance as a weed in past times. Imc (talk) 22:42, 6 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

If we basically agree on this, we really should change this sentence though (unless someone tells us where this is still true nowadays), or at least put it in the past tense. P. rhoeas may not exactly be an endangered species, but to claim that it may be "mistaken for a crop" does seem a bit over the top to me.

In addition, I find it hard to imagine how anyone can mistake these prominent red flowers for a crop... (unless, of course, we are talking about countries here that do use species of Papaver as a crop... ;-) )--Anna (talk) 08:58, 12 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

However moves are afoot to change this - a campaign has been started (The 2014 Real Poppy Campaign) to plant millions of seeds throughout the UK to commemorate the centenary of WW1 - see http://realpoppy.co.uk/ ---- Graham — Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.66.104.152 (talk) 13:06, 18 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural usage[edit]

Given the existence of a separate article for the Remembrance poppy, the length of the section in this article is excessive. It should be reduced to a short paragraph. Imc (talk) 22:42, 6 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

File:Poster papaver 3a.jpg to appear as POTD[edit]

Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Poster papaver 3a.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on November 11, 2014. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2014-11-11. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. Thanks! — Crisco 1492 (talk) 04:25, 23 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Picture of the day

Three stages of a common poppy flower (Papaver rhoeas): bud, flower and fruit (capsule). The species, which grows up to 70 centimetres (28 in) in height, has large showy flowers which measure 50 to 100 millimetres (2 to 4 in). The flower stem is usually covered with coarse hairs that are held at right angles to the surface. The later capsules are hairless, obovoid in shape, and less than twice as tall as they are wide, with a stigma at least as wide as the capsule.

Poppies are soil seed bank plants which germinate when the soil is disturbed. After the extensive ground disturbance caused by the fighting in World War I, poppies bloomed in between the trench lines and no man's lands on the Western Front. They have since become commonly used in western countries on and before Remembrance Day each year, as a symbol of remembrance inspired by John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields".Photograph: Alvesgaspar

Archive – More featured pictures...

What is meant?[edit]

The intro says the poppy "is notable as an agricultural weed (hence the "corn" and "field")". What is being stated here? Why hence the "corn" and "field"

It refers to the common names. I've added a bit to clarify this. Peter coxhead (talk) 13:42, 4 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Edible Seeds[edit]

The "uses" section describes the seeds being used for food as a filling, but this seems more in line with the opium poppy (papaver somniferum), sometimes called the breadseed poppy. I suppose the seeds of this species may also be quite edible, but they don't seem to be cultivated for this purpose. All seeds I see sold online for rhoeas are for growing, not for eating. Buddy Gripple (talk) 15:05, 3 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]