Flowering plant (ssp. setigerum). Photo: Don Wood, south coast, NSW

Flowers. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Nombinnie Nature Reserve near Mt Hope, NSW

Flowering plants. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Nombinnie Nature Reserve near Mt Hope, NSW

Common Name

Opium Poppy, Poppy

Family

Papaveraceae

Notes

Introduced annual forb to 1m or more tall. Leaves basal and alternating up the stems, with basal lobes, 3-18cm long, flat, glaucous to sparsely bristly, lobed, toothed. Stem leaves stem-clasping and often with basal lobes. Flowers with 4 white, pink, or pale purple petals with a purple spot at the base, borne singly on long stalks.

In ssp. somniferum, the fruiting bodies are globular, frequently to 5cm in diameter, and do not release their seed.

In ssp. setigerum, the fruiting bodies are cylindrical to almost globular, usually less than 2cm in diameter, and release the seed by pores. Subspecies are not recognised in SA and Vic.

Description and photo (of Papaver somniferum ssp. setigerum) in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 314

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Papaver~somniferum