{"id":11203,"date":"2026-05-06T10:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T08:38:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mucbo.org\/papaver-somniferum-l\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T10:41:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T08:41:31","slug":"papaver-somniferum-l","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mucbo.org\/en\/papaver-somniferum-l\/","title":{"rendered":"Papaver\u00a0somniferum\u00a0L.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>CAT:<\/strong>\u00a0cascall, herba dormidora\u00a0<br><strong>ES:<\/strong>\u00a0adormidera<br><strong>ENG: <\/strong>Poppy, Opium poppy\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>FAMILY:<\/strong> Papaveraceae<\/p><p><strong>DISTRIBUTION:<\/strong> Central Mediterranean and Canary Islands. Today it is also cultivated or grows subspontaneously in many other temperate regions of the world.<\/p><p><strong>DESCRIPTION:<\/strong> Annual plant, up to 1\u20131.5 m tall, with an erect, glaucous stem. Broad, clasping leaves. Large, solitary flowers with variable colours (white, pink, lilac or reddish). The fruit is a characteristic globose capsule.<\/p><p><strong>CONSERVATION STATUS:<\/strong> Not threatened. A widely cultivated species; its presence in the wild is usually linked to former agricultural use.<\/p><p><strong>PHENOLOGY:<\/strong> Flowering mainly in spring (April\u2013May). Fruiting in late spring and early summer.<\/p><p><strong>LIFE FORM:<\/strong> Therophyte (annual plant).<\/p><p><strong>HABITAT:<\/strong> Cultivated fields, field margins, disturbed ground and nitrogen-rich areas, especially on well-drained, sunny soils.<\/p><p><strong>USES:<\/strong><br><em>Papaver somniferum<\/em> has been known since antiquity for the milky substance extracted from the green capsule: opium. Historically, it has been used as a calming and sedative agent and has played an important role in traditional medicine, although today its use is strictly regulated.<br>At a more domestic and everyday level, the seeds, which do not contain opium, have traditionally been used in baking and bread-making, including in the Mediterranean region. In popular symbolism, the plant has become associated with sleep and rest, hence the name \u201csleep-inducing herb\u201d.<\/p><p><strong>IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN:<\/strong><br>At the S\u00f3ller Botanical Garden, it is presented in the medicinal plants terrace as an example of a plant with a strong historical and cultural significance. It allows discussion of traditional plant uses, the boundary between remedy and poison, and how botanical knowledge helps us better understand the relationship between people and the plant world.<\/p><p>We also use the opium poppy as an ornamental plant in temporary planters, thanks to its showy flowers and ease of cultivation. It provides vertical structure, colour, and an ephemeral, seasonal appearance. It is also an interesting species for botanical outreach, as it allows the complete life cycle of an annual plant to be demonstrated, as well as the diversity of aesthetic uses behind a species with strong symbolic and historical significance.\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CAT:\u00a0cascall, herba dormidora\u00a0ES:\u00a0adormideraENG: Poppy, Opium poppy\u00a0 FAMILY: Papaveraceae DISTRIBUTION: Central Mediterranean and Canary Islands. Today it is also cultivated or grows subspontaneously in many other temperate regions of the world. DESCRIPTION: Annual plant, up to 1\u20131.5 m tall, with an erect, glaucous stem. Broad, clasping leaves. Large, solitary flowers with variable colours (white, pink, lilac [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[143],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pieces-and-plants-of-the-month"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Papaver\u00a0somniferum\u00a0L.\u00a0 - MUCBO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mucbo.org\/en\/papaver-somniferum-l\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Papaver\u00a0somniferum\u00a0L.\u00a0 - MUCBO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CAT:\u00a0cascall, herba dormidora\u00a0ES:\u00a0adormideraENG: Poppy, Opium poppy\u00a0 FAMILY: Papaveraceae DISTRIBUTION: Central Mediterranean and Canary Islands. 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