Well I had no idea that poppy came in 2 versions. But here's the thing - Since I didn't know this fact, I seriously doubt if anyone else in my country would also know. So once anybody is caught growing these, it'll be curtains for the grower... Which is why I'll never try it, (just to be on the safe side)... By the way, I always wondered why this plant was illegal to grow in my area, yet it's seeds are freely available for baking. So, like, are the poppy seeds used in baking from the ornamental poppy? However, it is very interesting to see these in bloom. The colors are very bright and eye catching too!
Poppies come in far more than 2 species. I also grow P. atlanticum and P. spicata and P. rhoeas (The Flanders poppy) grows all over the fields around us. There are over 50 different species plus a lot of sub-species and even more hybrids and forms.
But in my part of the world, I think there is only one kind of poppy - The one which gives opium, seriously I'm not joking... Lovely pictures by the way!
That may be so, but I still wouldn't like to take that big a risk. No gardening shop owner would jeopardize their business either, which is why the only poppy seeds which we will ever get, are those used in baking bread. They are sold without any regularization, and it's not even clearly known from which poppy they come from - But if anybody tried to grow them in their garden, then the situation has the potential of turning into something extremely ugly... As first nobody would believe that there are types of poppy which do not give opium. So instantly the grower will be arrested, and for a drugs charge there is no bail over here either. So until it will all get sorted out that this particular poppy is not the opium giving type - The person will be rotting in jail for at least 3 weeks to 3 months, and sometimes even up to 2 years (in the company of pickpockets, pimps, swindlers, and even murders), as that's how long it can take to bring your actual trial in the court to some type of a conclusion... Which is why I said that the risk is too great. Still, some people do it anyway, as they really do seek raw opium for themselves. Which is why this plant has gained an extremely bad reputation, (even though it's flowers are very beautiful to look at).
I really have no idea about that, never actually seen one grow in the wild. Mainly because I live in the city, plus these plants are suited to the weather conditions of Northern Pakistan, while I am situated right the Southern most area next to the Arabian Sea... Yesterday the temperature over here was above 40 degrees C (104 F), so it's extremely hard for these plants to thrive here in. Northern Pakistan I am sure would be a totally different story, but as I said so above, I don't live there.
Toni, Yes, thanks for that post. I did think they were two different poppies: the herbaceous perennial grown here & opium poppies.
