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Papaveraceae
Corn Poppy
Papaver rhoeas
Remembrance, sacrifice, sleep, peace.
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Genus
- Papaver
- Native to
- Europe, north Africa, western Asia
- Bloom season
- Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- Annual
- Height
- 30–90 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low to moderate
- Hardiness
- Annual everywhere
- Lifespan
- One season; self-seeds
Did you know
- The corn poppy is the famous 'Flanders poppy' that bloomed across the battlefields of World War I, immortalized in the poem 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae.
- It became the symbol of remembrance worn each November 11 across the Commonwealth and beyond — over 30 million paper poppies are sold annually in the UK alone.
- Corn poppy seeds can lie dormant in soil for 80+ years, waiting for the ground to be disturbed before germinating in massive numbers.
- The 'Shirley poppy' is a famous color strain bred by Reverend William Wilks in Shirley, England in the 1880s — softer pinks, whites, and bicolors instead of pure red.
- Each flower has only four tissue-thin petals that crumple inside the bud and unfurl in minutes when the flower opens.
Color meanings
Red
Honor and remembrance of fallen soldiers