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Papaveraceae
Red Poppy
Papaver rhoeas
Remembrance, sacrifice, and resilience.
- Family
- Papaveraceae
- Genus
- Papaver
- Native to
- Europe, North Africa, western Asia
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Summer
- Type
- annual
- Height
- 30–90 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, neutral to alkaline, even poor soil
- Water
- low; drought-tolerant
- Hardiness
- 3–10 (annual)
- Lifespan
- annual
Did you know
- The red poppy became a symbol of WWI remembrance after blooming on the churned battlefields of Flanders.
- Seeds can remain dormant in soil for over 80 years, germinating only when the earth is disturbed.
- A single red poppy capsule can contain up to 20,000 tiny seeds — an extraordinary reproductive strategy.
- Unlike the opium poppy, the common red poppy produces negligible amounts of narcotic alkaloids.
- John McCrae's 1915 poem 'In Flanders Fields' inspired the tradition of wearing poppies on Remembrance Day.
Color meanings
Red
remembrance of fallen soldiers and the fragility of life